


The Thing About Timing

by Deliasbabe



Category: American Horror Story, American Horror Story: Apocalypse, American Horror Story: Coven
Genre: F/F, Gen, This is angsty as fuck, but also really cute, cordelia has a daughter, foxxay - Freeform, foxxay isnt the main part of this story but it is involved, it gets better after the first few chapters I promise, set after season 3 because season 8 doesnt matter, slow burn foxxay, some hints about season 8 tho, this is my first fanfic im so sorry, vaguely references rape so if that triggers you this aint it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-03
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2020-04-07 11:42:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 50
Words: 312,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19084330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deliasbabe/pseuds/Deliasbabe
Summary: A few months after the season 3 finale, Cordelia has settled into her new role as supreme. What happens when a new young witch forces Delia to confront her own dark past? Completely AU, just an idea I've had in my head for awhile. Some influence from season 8, but theres no apocalypse.





	1. Visions

A few months after the finale:

After the coven went public, the months following were a whirlwind. After weeding out the true witches from those who simply wanted to be, Delia finally got time to settle down into her new role as supreme and while the role turned out to be much more difficult than her mother made it appear to be, Delia found herself enjoying it. She still did everything she did before, she ran the coven, taught the girls, and searched high and low for new witches who may have been overlooked or too scared to come to the school when the news story broke. But today she seemed to hit a dead end. Delia knew there was more witches out there, she felt it, but all of her seemingly promising leads had lead nowhere.

She knew there was a witch in New Orleans, and a powerful one at that, she had visions of the girl almost daily. She knew she had killed a man in an alley who tried to rape a woman on her way home from a bar, turning his brain to mush. Visions of drug dealers with broken necks and blood coming out of every orifice. She never saw the girls face, only features, but she still was able to figure out a few things about the girl. She knew she was young, at most sixteen. She saw flashes of burnt out houses and dirty jeans. She knew the girl was troubled, much like Queenie, and that she had a knack for making herself disappear. She saw her bright blue eyes every night in her dreams, her shadow disappearing behind brick walls and her footsteps on broken glass. She had followed every "unexplainable" incident in the area, visiting places she knew the girl had been, hoping to get something, some minute detail that would solve the puzzle. She worked closely with the police, something she swore shed never do, just in case she managed to get herself caught, but so far she hadn't.

So there Delia sat, pouring over foster kid's case files and mug shots of runaways, hoping to see those eyes once again, and finally put a name to them. But once again, there was nothing, the girl seemed to not exist. Normally, Delia would have moved on, knowing eventually something would turn up, but for some reason, Delia couldn't get the girl out of her head. She blamed her laser focus and stubbornness on the girl being too powerful to be left alone, and made herself believe that if she didn't find her, the girl would do even more damage, hurt more people, and even if those people deserved to be hurt, Delia couldn't have that. Not with the public looking for a reason to condemn the witches already. After all, the school for warlocks had been burned to the ground just last month. What was worse, if the girl did know just how powerful she was, and wasn't under the right guidance, she could easily misuse her magical abilities for her own gain, and Delia couldn't have another Fiona running around.

Delia sat at her desk for hours, until Zoe broke her from her own thoughts. "You coming down for dinner? The girls learned a new spell and they're dying to show you."

"I'll be down in a minute; I just have a few things to finish here." Delia hadn't realized just how long she had been working, she had started before the girls had even woken up, her now cold coffee and grumbling stomach giving her a blaring reminder of the day she had appeared to have wasted away. She knew she had other responsibilities, more girls she could be looking for, more she should be trying to save, but something about this girl being so close bothered Delia. She was the supreme after all; she should be able to locate the girl easily. Wasn't locating lost objects part of her test to be supreme? Apparently that didn't apply to humans, or at least ones that didn't want to be found. She had found other girls that exact way, but for some reason this one was different, and Delia couldn't figure out why.

After getting frustrated for the thousandth time that day, Delia finally made her way to dinner. The girls gushed about boys (and a few girls) they had met while on a field trip earlier and were itching to show Delia the new incantation they had learned. As soon as Kyle had poured water into their glasses for dinner, the girls quickly said the new spell and the water quickly evaporated. Delia, along with Queenie and Zoe, pretended to be impressed and even forced a laugh as Kyle came back around to fill their glasses for the 10th time, still oblivious to the tricks being played on him. Her head was still somewhere else however, and after dinner Delia quickly returned to her study to disappear in her work for another few hours, before finally giving up and getting ready for bed, knowing she again would dream about the girl.


	2. Chapter 2

Queenie and Zoe would kill her if they found out about what she was going to do. Because truthfully, she wanted to kill herself over this, but Delia felt like she was out of options. She hadn't dreamed of the girl the night before like she was secretly hoping. Instead, Fiona filled her dreams, and that was the last thing Delia wanted. Those couldn't be her visions, they were her nightmares, taunting her. She woke up several times throughout the night, willing the dreams to go away, only to fall back asleep and experience the same dream over and over: Fiona walking down a long hallway carrying her baby blanket.

That was it, nothing else, just an endless hallway, and Fiona. Delia knew this was just happening to taunt her. After all, Fiona had thrown out her blanket in a drunken rage when she was a child, despite her tears and pleads for it to be saved. Maybe it was the universe throwing in her face that she didn't have a child to raise. She had wanted a baby of her own for so long, but when she became supreme she knew she couldn't raise a child the way she wanted to, her attention had to be on the coven. So she had made the choice to set aside her own wants and put the coven first, but apparently her mind still hadn't gotten on the same page.

When Delia had realized sleep wasn't going to be her friend that night, she had gotten up and gotten back to work, pouring over notes of mysterious cases around the world, taking her mind off the girl and her mother and focusing on other potential witches. After a few hours of working somewhat diligently, Delia fell asleep at her desk, prompting another vision, this time, just one image: a voodoo doll. When she woke up, she didn't really know where the vision had come from, or what it meant. But something told her she needed to act on it, and so here she was, standing in front of the hair shop, willing herself to enter, or maybe to just go home, she wasn't sure which yet. She didn't know what to expect if she entered the store, and even more so if she actually went forward with her plan and asked the voodoo witches for help. Would they laugh at her? Would they still be angry for what her late husband had done? Now, she wished she had brought Queenie, after all she was one of them for some time, she would know how to win them over, to convince them, or maybe she would just be good moral support. But Queenie wasn't here and as much as Delia had acted like she wasn't the small, quiet teacher from the past, her insides still screamed at the very thought of walking in those doors and being told to leave.

But Delia was the supreme, and she knew if she didn't try then all of her hopes of finding this girl would be lost; this was truly her last chance. So she put her game face on, and walked through the doors.

Since Marie had passed, Delia wasn't sure who their new leader was, so she walked in and smiled at the girls at their stations, and asked in the nicest tone she could if she could speak with whoever was in charge. The girls however, knew who she was and didn't mistake her as someone looking to talk about hair, they all looked from one to the next, silently asking each other whether they should even entertain her. They didn't even need to decide as before they could muster an answer, a gorgeous woman stepped out from behind the beaded curtain. "You wanted to talk with me?" she said. "Yes, I'm-" but before Delia could finish, the woman chimed in "I know who you are, come to the back and we'll talk."

Delia tried to keep up her strong, cool façade as she walked behind the curtain, however as soon as the women sat down she broke.

"I'm Grace, I took over after Marie left us. What can I help you with?"

Delia immediately noticed the difference between Marie and Grace. Marie was harsh but strong, whereas Grace had a softness about her. Suddenly, she felt at ease.

"I'm looking for a girl, and I was hoping you could help me."

"Why do you think we would be able to help?"

Cordelia went on to explain her vision of the voodoo doll, and the visions she had of the girl, explaining to Grace what she knew about her appearance and background. Grace told Delia she couldn't really give a definitive answer about the girl unless she had more to go on, but Delia felt like something was off. There was a strange energy in the air, almost like a pulsing that Delia couldn't quite place. She heard the front door shut and the sound of a couple girls laughing, and Grace quickly got up to show Cordelia out. Right as Delia was about to walk out from behind the curtain, she ran into one of the girls, and stared into an all too familiar pair of eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

Cordelia was never like this. She wasn't the type to run off or be caught off guard, she always knew to expect anything and everything. She was rational and collected, so why was this different? Why did she let the girl go, and let her own emotions get the best of her? This was what she was searching for for months, and she just let her walk away? But Delia didn't expect to get a vision off of her just by touching her, if she can even call it a vision. It was a memory, her memory. One she spent years trying to get out of her brain. She knew the day would eventually come, probably. But not like this, and certainly not this soon.

She blamed her mother for most of it. After all, she was the one who made her put that little girl up for adoption. Delia knew it was the right choice, her and Hank were barely old enough to care for themselves, let alone a baby. At the beginning, she blamed it on Fiona not liking Hank, not wanting him to be tied to Delia in case things went south, and it turned out she was right, but Delia obviously didn't realize that until years and years later. Delia didn't want to give her up, and had she known what she knows now she probably would have never. But then again, things happen for a reason.

After Hanks true character was revealed, Cordelia assumed the child wouldn't ever get powers. Witch hunters were believed to have powers of their own, a sort of protection for them against the less powerful witches. Otherwise it would be too easy for the hunters to be located and killed. She thought the opposing forces would cancel out, leaving the child with a normal life. Oh how wrong she was.

So when Delia was faced with this child, her child, she did what she rarely does, she panicked. And she ran.

Now back in her study, she kicked herself over and over for letting the girl go. She probably should stop referring to her as the girl though, she has a name. Elliott. Delia didn't want to pick the girls name when she was born, she felt her parents deserved to name her. She had told them once in passing the names her and Hank were going between before she had decided to give her up, but she never thought they would pick one of them. And that just makes it all worse.

Zoe and Queenie knew something was up, Delia had been stuck in her office, and in her own head, since the moment she returned. She managed to leave for dinner with the girls, but didn't say a word the whole time. She hoped the rest of the coven's excessive chatter would take the focus off of her, but they still noticed.

She doesn't know how to tell them, or even if she should tell them. Part of her just wants to leave the girl alone. The girl obviously hung around the voodoo witches quite often, and based on Grace's reaction to Cordelia, she knew the girl was a witch. Delia finds it hard to believe they wouldn't be doing something to help train the girl. The girl, Elliott. She needed to start calling her by her name. Elliott. Delia knew she needed to be rational about this, just because she gave birth to her doesn't mean she's her mother, she has parents.

That's another thing that worried her, her parents. Would they even let Elliott come to the school? While they were pretty open to Delia seeing the child when she was born, her coming into the picture now was a whole different story, especially under these circumstances. Fiona was the one who told her she shouldn't have contact, that it would be too hard, and Delia agreed. After all, she wasn't even sure she wanted to give up the girl in the first place.

But something told Cordelia her parents might not be around anymore, or if they were they weren't the parents Delia expected them to be. Delia's visions told her the girl was troubled, and unless they were referring to some other lost witch, that meant there was a lot that has changed since the last time Delia saw her almost 16 years ago.

A knock on the door jarred the supreme out of her thoughts, she looked up and saw Grace standing at the door. She briefly considers telling her its not a good time, but instead invites her in. "What can I do for you Grace?" she says, trying to cover up the dread shes feeling about the conversation she is sure will take place ahead. "Well, you seemed to leave in quite a hurry after your run in with Elliott. I wanted to talk about it." Grace responded, her silently acknowledging that she did in fact know it was the girl Cordelia had been searching for, "I'm sorry I wasn't up front with you about knowing the girl. The thing is, Elliott doesn't really like to be found, and all of us girls are very protective of her." Cordelia wasn't shocked at this reveal, she knew the girl was good at disappearing, that's why she had been so hard to find in the first place. "I know there has been issues between the two covens in the past, and I don't want to take the girl away from you if you feel she belongs with you" Delia worded this response carefully, silently hoping Grace would agree. Instead, Grace took a different approach, "I know there has been a long standing feud between our groups, but I'm not Marie, I don't think a fighting will help anyone, and I do think Elliott belongs with your coven, her magic isn't something anyone at the salon has ever seen before, we aren't trained like you are to control that. But I know Elliott very well, my girl has been friends with her for years, and getting her to agree to come here will be a whole different animal, she doesn't do to well with being told what's best for her." Delia silently shook her head, she had figured this would be the issue, but what Grace said next took Delia by surprise, "She's yours, isn't she?"


	4. Chapter 4

Delia said nothing, not knowing how to even begin to respond. Instead, Grace took that as a yes and offered some explanation. "I saw the look on your face, I always knew Elliott came from a witch, to be honest I always assumed it was Fiona." Cordelia didn't need to ask why she thought it was Fiona, Fiona was selfish, and Delia knew if Fiona had had another child, giving them up is exactly what Fiona would do.

The realization hurt Delia a little bit, being thought of as cold and uncaring like Fiona. She was still reeling from all of this and being outted so quickly, but since Grace already knew, Delia decided to see what Grace knew about the girl. "What happened to her parents?"

Grace hesitated before deciding to tell the woman, "Car accident, hit by a drunk driver when she was two." Grace knew Cordelia would want to know more than just that, so she didn't even wait for the questions before giving her what she knew, "After that she was bounced around to about a dozen foster homes, I don't really know much about that, I met her when she was 10, by then she was at a group home, she went to school with my girl Sarah. A few years after that she ran away from the home and went into hiding, but she still hung around with us. I didn't have the heart to report her, and she seemed to be doing ok on her own, so I left her be."

Taking it all in, Cordelia just sat and listened to Grace tell her what she knew. She could tell Grace really cared for the girl, so if she was telling Cordelia she needed to be here, Delia knew she had to figure out how to make it happen, regardless of her own fears. The girl's powers were getting stronger every day, and if they didn't get them under control soon, they could become even more dangerous.

Grace knew why Cordelia was so apprehensive to take the girl in, she would be too if she was in the Supremes position. Grace knew how hard it was to be responsible for so many people, and then to have to worry about raising a child on top of it. "You don't have to be her mother Cordelia. Hell, even if you tried I don't think she would let you, she's stubborn. That's why I always assumed she was Fiona's. The girl has basically raised herself, and she hasn't gotten into too much trouble."

While this was supposed to calm her down, instead it brought to light a new set of questions Delia hadn't even begun to explore. Did she want to be Elliott's mother? Cordelia didn't know what she wanted, but regardless, she had to take the girl in. It was her duty as supreme, and like always, that trumped everything else. "We'll take her, regardless of any other circumstances, she needs to learn how to control her gifts above all else. The issue is convincing her to come here. If she has been on her own for that long, I don't think she'll take too kindly to being moved into a school and having rules."

Grace thought for a moment, and decided on a plan, "I'll talk to Sarah about it, get her to convince Elliott to even consider it, then well go for lunch. That way she can ask whatever she needs to ask and feel like it her choice." Cordelia agreed, having gone a similar route to convince Queenie to join the coven, she knew making sure the girl felt like she had a choice was the most important thing.

Shortly after finalizing the plans, Grace left and an emotionally exhausted Cordelia prepared to go to bed, but something felt off. She did the rounds to check on the girls, and everything seemed ok with them, but Delia knew something was wrong in her gut. Almost on cue, the supreme had a vision, or part of one, of a corner store on the other side of town. While Delia wasn't one to normally transmutate, especially after what happened with Zoe, she felt time was of the essence and quickly went to the store, hoping she wasn't too late to stop whatever was happening.

Delia transmutated to a spot just outside of the store, and looked through the windows. Nothing seemed to be off, but Delia went inside anyways, just to make sure. She saw a young boy, maybe 18, behind the counter, talking with someone who must have been on the floor behind him. Once the second person spoke, however, Delia knew her gut wasn't wrong. The voice was Elliotts, Delia was sure of it. "Just go grab it!" she heard Elliott say to the boy. "I can't, I have to stay behind the counter, just go get it Elliott," The two bickered back and forth until finally Elliott popped into view, walking from behind the counter and heading towards the fridges on the opposite end of the store. Elliott spotted Cordelia and recognized her from earlier in the day, "Hey, you were the lady I bumped into at the shop earlier, weren't you?" "Uh yea I was." Cordelia said, hesitating. She didn't want to say anymore and possibly tip the girl off or make her uneasy, but Elliott didn't seem to notice. " Sorry I basically ran you over, I have a bad habit of not looking where I'm going." "Yea she does!" the boy behind the counter teased. "Shut up David, I know where sleep remember?" Elliot retorted. Cordelia took the time during this exchange to actually take in the girl. She was short, shorter than Cordelia, and thin, but not a twig like Delia was when she was that age. She could see why Grace thought she was Fiona's, her features were delicate like hers, but her eyes reminded Cordelia of herself, except the blue, which the supreme assumed came from Hanks side. In a way, Cordelia was relieved she didn't look like Hanks at all, she didn't know how she would handle it after everything Hank did.

Cordelia was brought out of her musings by the bell on the door ringing, and a middle aged man walking in. She felt a knot in the pit of her stomach. The man surveyed the store as he walked down an aisle, and Delia had a feeling about what was about to happen. David and Elliott were clueless, still yelling about how they were going to get each other back from opposite sides of the store. The man grabbed a bag of chips and walked toward the front of the store, setting it on the front counter and pulling a handgun from his coat pocket.

"Empty the register now." the mans voice was eerily calm, and Delia had an idea that he had done this before. David and Elliott were fully aware of what was happening, and Cordelia saw the color drain from Elliott's face. She tried to keep an eye on Elliott and David, knowing if this were to go south, and she had a feeling it would, she would need to be aware of everything. David did as he was told and started emptying the register. Out of the corner of her eye, the Supreme watched Elliott's face change. Cordelia watched the two men up front and saw David begin to slow down, which made the man with the gun angry. He kept yelling at him to hurry up, but Cordelia saw a trickle of blood drip from David's nose. Elliott was so focused on keeping him safe she was doing the opposite. She didn't want to scare Elliott by talking to her, and she didn't want to alert the man with the gun, so she tried to force Elliott to stop. It felt like mentally she was hitting a wall, she couldn't break through and get control of the girl.

Cordelia was baffled, she had only ever had issues controlling a trained, powerful witch, not one who barely even knew she had powers. But she knew she didn't have time to figure out this girl now, she had to do something before they were all dead. She couldn't get Elliott to stop, so she had to make Elliott think she was killing the right man, and fast. Cordelia took her focus off the girl and instead turned to the gunman, quickly heating up his brain until he collapsed dead on the floor.

Delia saw Elliott's face relax and David come out of his trance and realize his bloody nose. She breathed a sigh of relief, but not before she saw Elliott focus on the corpse on the floor, only for it to turn to dust. Never in all of Cordelia's years as a teacher had she seen anything like it, and she had seen a lot. Elliott didn't hesitate at what she did, just moved on to make sure David was ok. Even David didn't seem shocked, which led Cordelia to believe this wasn't the first time Elliott had done this.

Elliott seemed to forget Cordelia was there as she tended to David's bloody nose, still unaware it was her who had done it. The two exchanged quiet words Cordelia was just out of range to hear, and it wasn't until Cordelia took a step forward and cleared her throat that the two even remembered there was another person in the store, snapping their heads up to look at her. Cordelia watched the color drain from their faces as they realized there was a witness to everything that just happened.

Cordelia decided to be the first to break the silence, "You need to get the security tapes" she gently said, locking the doors of the store with a flick of her finger. Despite the revelation that Delia was indeed a witch just like her, Elliott remained stiff as she made her way to the back where she knew the tapes were kept. Although Elliot was relieved that Cordelia wasn't going to go to the cops, she also wasn't stupid. Elliott knew Cordelia being there, especially after running into her earlier, wasn't a coincidence.

Much to Elliott's luck, the store still used a dinosaur security system with actual vhs tapes as opposed to the new systems that were backed up to the internet; less evidence that way. She grabbed the tapes and walked back out and behind the counter, sliding them into her backpack. She turned to look back at the supreme in a half-glaring/half-questioning way.

"Anything else?" she asked, mustering as much sarcasm as she possibly could. However, her voice wavered and it sounded more vulnerable than Elliott had wanted, so the teenager chose to quickly break eye contact with the woman and return to fiddling with her backpack.

The sudden change in Elliott's attitude didn't shock Cordelia, she had sort of expected it all along. Elliott was smart, and definitely perceptive; she knew Cordelia was there for a reason. Delia didn't blame her for her hostility, she wouldn't like being ambushed either. But Cordelia didn't really know how to answer the girls question. Talking to her about the academy when she was worked up like this would be pointless, but suddenly, discussing it over lunch just seemed trivial. If she brought it up now, Elliott would never go for it, and if she brought it up later, this whole scene seemed planned. So, the only option Cordelia had was to be honest and hope for the best.

"I wasn't supposed to be here tonight; I was supposed to meet you later over lunch, but I knew something was going to happen and I couldn't risk it." Cordelia said carefully.

This kind of confirmed what Elliott already knew, this wasn't a coincidence. However, it also opened up some new questions. "What do you mean you were supposed to meet me?" Elliott responded, the edge in her voice evident.

Cordelia hesitated, she didn't want to rat Grace out, Elliott would feel betrayed and since Grace was the closest thing to family she had, Cordelia needed Grace to stay in Elliott's life in case thing went south. "I run an academy for girls like you, witches. I help them to control their powers and learn about them."

Elliott knew there was an academy for witches, she heard whispers from other kids on the street. She had heard rumors about it, few of them good. One boy told her it was a trap, a plot by the government to find these "special" girls and kill them. Another told her of a secret sex trafficking ring and some satanic cult, but Elliott knew those boys didn't have any idea what it actually was, they were just mad it wasn't for them. But Elliott was off the grid completely. She ran away, so how did this woman find her?

Cordelia saw the gears in Elliott's head turning and let the girl have a few seconds for the girl to process. She made eye contact with David, who was still nursing his bloody nose, hoping he would give her some indication of what to do. He nodded towards her, a silent signal to let her know she was on the right path.

After Elliott had gone through a bunch of scenarios about her discovery, she finally had narrowed it down to one option, "Grace came to you, didn't she?"

Elliott's voice was still harsh, but it had softened a bit, sounding more hurt than anything else. Cordelia's heart broke for the child, she didn't understand that Grace was only doing what she felt was best for the girl, she only came to Cordelia because she cared.

So Cordelia told a half truth, "No. I knew there was a witch in New Orleans, I had a vision about the shop, I went to her to see if she knew anything, and she didn't tell me about you. It wasn't until I ran into you that I realized the witch was you." Cordelia didn't feel the need to tell the girl about Grace coming to the coven, at least not yet.

Elliott's face visibly relaxed as Cordelia told her that Grace in fact didn't betray her, she really liked Grace. Elliott was conflicted, every bone in her body told her not to trust this woman standing in front of her, but for some reason she was drawn to her, wanting to hear what she had to say. Cordelia saw the tug of war written on the girls face. She, like Cordelia, didn't have the best poker face. The supreme took a step towards the girl, forcing Elliott to look directly at the woman out of reflex. Cordelia quickly realized her mistake and stepped back once again. She silently had cursed herself for the action, she had only wanted to comfort the girl, but she saw Elliott's facial expression harden, "I don't want to go to your school" Elliott said with as much force as she could. There was no vulnerability in it this time, no room to press her further, and Cordelia physically cringed at the sharpness of the girl's voice. Elliott needed to control the situation, and Cordelia had taken that away from her. For Elliott it was a power struggle and she needed the upper hand, but Cordelia couldn't walk away now, not until she had convinced Elliott to go.

So she looked at David once more, who's expression had also hardened. So she took a deep breath and used the only leverage she had left. "You know you hurt David tonight, right?" This caught the girl's attention and the supreme directed her gaze back at the girl continuing, "You didn't kill the other man, you were so focused on protecting David that you actually were hurting him, that's why his nose was bleeding. That's why I tried to stop you, because if you didn't break your concentration you would've killed him. I killed the other man."

Elliott's hardened stare dissolved as the woman kept talking, and as much as she didn't want to believe the other woman, she knew it was true. She turned to look at David and his expression said he believed it too. The young girl looked away from him and stared at the floor, not wanting to show the vulnerability she knew was plastered on her face. She didn't say anything to Cordelia once the woman was done speaking. She knew the supreme had won, and she looked down so try and hide the tears that were inevitably going to run down her face.

Cordelia watched the girl crumble and felt the knot in her stomach tighten, she knew using David was a low blow, but it was the only option she had. The woman fought with herself on what to say or do next, her emotions getting the best of her, and without realizing it she had moved towards the girl, who was now sitting on the ground within Delia's view. She crouched to the girl's level, and gently grabbed the girls face, causing the girl to look up at her with her tear streaked face, "I know you didn't mean to hurt him, and I know none of this is your fault. Let me help you." Delia pleaded to the girl, getting tears in her eyes herself.

The girl stared at her for a while, wondering why the woman was trying so hard to help her. As much as she knew she shouldn't, Elliott trusted her, and that scared her more than anything. After a few moments of silence, the girl finally spoke.

"Ok."


	5. Chapter 5

Later that night, Cordelia had finally gotten into bed after getting Elliott acquainted with the house and settled into her room. Luckily, one of the girls had just moved out, meaning Elliott had the room to herself. The girl hadn't said much since her agreement at the store. During the short house tour, she nodded her head when prompted, but she didn't speak until Cordelia dropped her off at her new room, offering a small "Thank you", barely audible to the supreme.

Now sitting up in her large bed, the supreme sat up replaying the day's events. Physically, she was exhausted but her mind was wide awake. There was so much she didn't understand about the girl. Cordelia had never felt so conflicted over one of her girls in her life.

She had never seen a witch, especially a young, untrained witch, be able to turn someone to ash. Fiona had been able to do something similar, but even she didn't have the power to do it so instantaneously. The power Elliott had was dangerous if she couldn't control it, and probably even more dangerous once she could. Elliott's ability was rooted in anger, and even though Elliott seemed like she had a good heart, Cordelia knew better than anyone that good people can do very bad things.

Despite it being 4am, Cordelia decided to postpone her much needed sleep in favor of going to her office to do some research. The supreme chose to leave the door open. After all, the girls were all asleep, or so she thought.

Down the hall, Elliott had yet to fall asleep, and she wasn't planning on it. It had been a long time since Elliott had a room to herself, or even a bed for that matter. She hated it, she felt trapped, like the room was a cage or some sort of solitary confinement. She sat on the floor beneath the window and stared at the closed door across from her, her backpack thrown on the bed beside her. Everyone was asleep, she could easily slip away into the night and leave town. She had enough money for the bus, she had a new burner phone she bought in case of emergencies, she gave David and Sarah the number. She could leave, so what was stopping her?

Maybe it was some moral obligation to David. After all, her hurting him was the only reason she agreed to come here in the first place. Would he be upset if she left? If he wasn't upset by her leaving the school in general, at the very least he would be upset that she left him in New Orleans. They vowed to stay together, although right now Elliott was seriously regretting it.

So she was staying, that much was decided. But, she still had to get out of that house, and especially that room. Elliott hated feeling out of control, and right now she was (figuratively) powerless. So she did what she did best, she ran. She ran right out of that room, past the open door of Cordelia's office, down the stairs and out the door. She realized about halfway down the stairs that someone was in fact up, as the lights illuminated the stairs so she didn't kill herself, and once outside she quickly ran to the back of the house and looked for a place to lay low. Across the yard she spotted what looked to be a greenhouse, and after scanning the front of the yard to make sure no one was coming, she quickly sprinted towards the glass building, turning to close the door behind her. She sat for a few moments with her hand on the knob and her forehead pressed against the door.

Once she had made sure she didn't hear approaching footsteps, Elliott let go of the knob and turned around, immediately bumping into a potted plant. The greenhouse smelled earthy and almost comforting. Elliott expected it to be stuffy, but it was surprisingly cool. The room was almost pitch black, just far enough away from the street that the only thing illuminating it was the moon, which was doing a pretty shitty job if Elliott was being honest.

So Elliott was left with what little sight she had and her own two hands and feet. She had already bumped into one potted plant, so she kicked around to see what else was around her feet. She bumped a few other potted plants, then decided to try and bump them away from her, kicking at them with more force. However, instead of her hitting a potted plant, her foot instead went through what Elliott believed to be some sort of canvas with a loud rip. Elliott outwardly cringed and swore under her breath, quickly pulling her foot back. She tried going in the opposite direction of the object she couldn't see, but definitely broke, trying to step around the minefield of potted plants.

Meanwhile, back at the house, Cordelia was definitely alerted by the girl running down the stairs. She had dealt with her fair share of girls sneaking out of the house at night, but usually they tried to at least be quiet about it. Cordelia had a feeling it was Elliott who ran, and Cordelia tried to move as quickly as she could after her. The supreme ran out the front door to the front of the house and tried to scan the street for Elliott. Like Cordelia thought, the girl was out of sight, so after briefly panicking, she quickly walked back inside and went in search of her car keys upstairs. Elliott's open door confirmed Delia's suspicions, but as the went to walk by something caught her eye: Elliott's backpack was still on the bed. Cordelia didn't know much about the girl, but she knew enough to know that Elliott wouldn't go far without her belongings.

While Cordelia was still slightly panicked as to where the girl had gone, her panic about Elliott leaving the coven had subsided. She wasn't running away, it was more likely this was all too much for her and she ran. Cordelia used to do that also when she was her age, but it was mostly running from her own mother. Knowing what she did, Cordelia laughed at the similarity. Maybe Elliott was a lot like her after all.

Cordelia had given up on searching for her car keys, Elliott wouldn't go any farther than she could walk back. Her main concern now wasn't bringing Elliott back, but she did want to make sure Elliott wasn't along the main road outside of the house. Often times people who didn't think very fondly of the witches would drive by at night and she didn't want to risk someone harming the young girl.

Cordelia walked back down the stairs and out the front door, once again scanning the main road for the girl, and breathing a sigh of relief when she didn't see her. If she was walking along the road, chances are by now she was far enough away no one would bother her. But Cordelia knew how smart this girl was, and she didn't really think Elliott would be out in plain sight. She turned around and headed towards the back of the house scanning the tree line, again catching no sight of her. She walked towards the far back of the yard and was about to turn around when she heard a definite clang come from the greenhouse. The greenhouse was supposed to be locked, but one of the girls must have put something in there for storage and forgotten to re-lock it. Delia crept closer to the corner of the greenhouse, out of sight, to listen for the girl. A few moments later, the supreme heard another clang and the girl swear under her breath, "Jesus Christ it's like being fucking blind in here."

Delia almost burst out laughing at the offhanded comment, knowing just how true that really was. Now that she knew where the girl was, that she was safe, Cordelia crept back quietly towards the house and went back to her work, only to fall asleep at her desk.

After Cordelia had gone back inside, Elliott was still trying to make her way across the dark greenhouse, kicking almost everything as she went. She had never really been the graceful type. After breaking about 20 potted plants and maiming a few other objects, Elliott found a small, empty crawl space between the two legs of the table and sat down, banging her head as she went. Once she was on the ground, she breathed put a sigh of relief. She thought about waiting until early morning when everyone was asleep and going back to the house to grab her things, then taking off before anyone could notice, but with as much trouble as she had getting into the greenhouse, getting back out in the dark really wasn't an option. She thought about telling Cordelia that she didn't really want to be here, but she found she kind of did. The thought of having a group of girls that all were connected was kind of nice, in theory that was. But Elliott knew she wasn't like the rest of the girls, she didn't have a family that cared enough about her safety to send her here, she was forced here because she did too much damage, because she WAS damaged. Elliott felt like she owed it to Cordelia and to David and Grace to stay, and she hated feeling like she owed people anything. As much as Elliott hated to admit it, she was stubborn and selfish. She didn't want to do anything for other people, she just wanted to do things her way. She wouldn't intentionally do things that hurt others, but she also wasn't going to make things harder for herself so others would feel better. She was the only one who was looking out for herself, so it kind of had to be that way.

Elliott sat lost in her thoughts until the sun started to shine in the greenhouse. By this point she was too exhausted to bother untangling herself from the mess of potted plants and broken ceramic around her, so she fell asleep right underneath that table, deciding she would stay a day and then leave the following night.


	6. Chapter 6

Delia got a late start to the day following her late night. Luckily it was the weekend so she didn't have to work about adhering to the lessons schedule. The house was rather empty, as many of the girls chose to spend the summers at home with their families, but a few girls stayed year round for some extra lessons. After checking Elliott's room to see if she had come back inside, Cordelia ran into her newest student, Mallory. The two talked about a new spell Mallory hadn't been able to quite get for a few minutes before Mallory asked if she was allowed to go to the greenhouse for a bit, reminding Cordelia that Elliott was still outside in the sweltering heat. Cordelia told Mallory the greenhouse was a mess and hadn't been used in a while but she was welcome to use it then politely excused herself.

Cordelia walked outside and immediately was hit with the classic New Orleans humidity, a sheen of sweat quickly coating her skin. She practically ran to the greenhouse, knowing how much hotter the greenhouse had to be, and flung the door open. Her eyes searched for the girl but didn't see her, so she stepped inside. After a few moments she spotted the girl sleeping underneath a table, her head propped up by one of the legs. The greenhouse was probably about 110 degrees and you could see the sweat beading on the girl's forehead. Cordelia calmed her nerves and made her way towards Elliott. Had it not been so hot, Cordelia probably would have let the girl sleep, she looked so peaceful. But the supreme knew if she was in here much longer she would have heat stroke, Cordelia already didn't feel good and she had only been in here for a matter of minutes. She gently put her hand on the girl's damp shoulder and whispered, "Elliott? Come on sweetie you have to get up. It's too hot to be outside."

Elliott slowly stirred, then jerked when she saw the supreme standing in front of her, once again smacking her head off the table. As she went to cradle her now bumped head she looked a Cordelia and nodded, scooching herself out from under the table. Cordelia offered Elliott a hand, and after Elliott briefly considered, she grabbed on, letting Cordelia pull her up.

Once the two had made their way inside, Elliott politely asked if she could take a shower. The girl's hair was far beyond matted and she was covered in sweat, and although Elliott would never admit it to anyone, she didn't feel good at all. The supreme made the girl drink a glass of water before she led her to her room, allowing the girl some more privacy in comparison to the shower stalls the other girls used. She told Elliott to get in and that she would bring her a fresh towel from the laundry, leaving Elliott on her own. After she heard the water running and the shower door close, she came back in and set the towel and an extra pair of Cordelia's own clothes on the counter, and grabbed the girl's old clothes and took them down to be washed.

Elliott had waited until Cordelia had left the towel before turning the shower from warm to freezing cold, allowing her body to cool down from the high temperature of the greenhouse. After realizing that standing was a poor option at the time, she slowly slid down the wall of the shower until she was seated, letting the icy rain flow over her. She pulled her knees towards her and rested her head on them and started to cry. She felt stupid for crying, there was nothing for her to be crying about. Cordelia didn't yell at her for leaving, but she had almost wished she had. She was in a nice place, with food and water and air conditioning. She couldn't even remember the last time she had been in a place this nice. But her life had changed, quite literally, overnight. And she hated it. She hated that she wasn't in control, she hated that she let Cordelia help her up in the greenhouse, she hated that Cordelia made her drink the water, she hated that she had even gone with her in the first place. She hated that Cordelia was kind and that she actually seemed to give a shit about her. Elliott didn't let people in unless she wanted them to be, and Cordelia was forcing her to let her in. Her tears of sadness quickly turned to tears of anger, mostly anger at herself. She beat herself up for another few minutes, then pulled herself together when she started shivering. She blamed her tears on her overheating body and stood up to finish her shower, turning the water to a lightly less hypothermic temperature.

She finished her shower quickly, using as little of Cordelia's products as possible, and hopped out to grab a towel. She spotted the clothes on the counter beside her, a pair of sports shorts and a tank top that were obviously not hers, and scanned the floor only to see that her old clothes had been removed. She debated making the trek from Cordelia's room to hers with nothing but a towel, after all she had clothes in her backpack, not that they were exactly clean, but they would work. "It's a kind gesture," she thought to herself, "Why do you always have to make things so difficult? It's not like you won't give the clothes back." Elliott played tug of war with her own mind, picking up and putting the clothes back down before catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She was pretty bruised up from an incident that happened a few days earlier, with marks covering her arms and legs. She placed the clothes back exactly where they were and looked into Cordelia's bedroom to make sure no one was there, the moved towards the hallway and again checked for any signs of life. When she thought the coast was clear she quickly walked down the hallway, making sure her steps weren't making any noise as she moved. She quickly moved into her bedroom and shut the door, but not before she saw a young girl walk out in the hallway and smile at her. She cursed herself for not making sure there were no open doors before she left Cordelia's room, and hoped the girl didn't notice that she was being weird. She quickly pulled out a pair of leggings and a zip up hoodie from her backpack and finished drying off, trying to take as much time as possible so she wouldn't have to face the other women in the house.

The young girl in the hallway was Mallory, and after her brief moment with Elliott, Mallory headed downstairs to the kitchen where Cordelia was. "Who's the new girl?" she asked

"That's Elliott, she came here late last night and I didn't want to wake anyone. Did you talk to her?" Cordelia asked.

"No more like a passing smile, she was in the hallway with a towel, I didn't really want to make her hold a conversation." Mallory responded.

"Why was she out in a towel? I left her clothes in the bathroom to change into." Cordelia asked, looking confused.

"Maybe she didn't see them? I don't really know but from the way she was walking I don't think she wanted to run into guests on her way back to her room." Mallory chuckled at the last bit, Elliott had looked kind of funny walking like she had a secret mission in her towel.

Cordelia nodded, trying to keep the mood light. She knew she had placed the clothes where Elliott definitely would have seen them. Maybe Elliott just wanted to wear her own clothes? Cordelia tried not to read too much into it, after all it was just clothes, if the girl wanted to wear her own then that was fine, she knew Elliott wasn't really into gestures, but she had to admit it stung a bit.

The two women conversed for a bit about their plans for the day as Mallory grabbed some lunch. Mallory could tell something with her supreme was off, but she wasn't going to pressure her into talking about it. Besides Cordelia's council, Mallory was the student who was closer to Cordelia, she thought of her as more of a friend than anything else, but she knew Cordelia had to keep a lot of the coven's issues from her to protect her.

The two chatted for another couple of minutes before Elliott had made her way downstairs to where the two women were, standing in the doorway. Cordelia looked up and saw the girl wearing a hoodie with water spots from her towel dried hair. She noticed how young it actually made the girl look, more like an actual child and less like the put together sassy teenager she had met the night before. "Elliott, this is Mallory, she's one of the students here."

Mallory walked toward the girl and hugged her, taking the girl by surprise and making her look a bit uncomfortable. "It's so nice to meet you! Sorry I'm known for being a bit of a hugger." Mallory beamed at the girl and Elliott offered a small smile back. Cordelia offered the girl some lunch but Elliott said she wasn't very hungry as she took a seat at one of the stools in the kitchen. She made polite chit chat with the other young witch as Cordelia sat and listened, although Cordelia noticed that the girl danced around the usual introductory questions Mallory was pestering her with. Mallory made eye contact with her supreme and quickly took the hint that Elliott's past was a sore subject, and moved on to talking about how much Elliott would love the other girls in the coven, except Madison, but she would get used to her.

Elliott did her best to seem excited about the coven as her stomach twisted into knots. She knew she probably wouldn't be here long, and the more involved she got in the coven the more it would hurt the rest of them when she left. She didn't want to know about how much she would love them or even learn all their names because she didn't want attachments, but the longer Mallory talked the less she had to say, and the longer it would be before she had to have some probably uncomfortable conversations with Cordelia.

The girl had to admit Mallory seemed genuinely nice, and her energy was infectious. The more excited she got the lighter the tone of the room had gotten, lifting from an awkward tension. Cordelia chimed into the conversation every once in a while to make a comment on a funny story Mallory was telling about the girls, but for the most part she was a spectator, studying the two girls. Elliott caught on very quickly to what she was doing and put on a good show, hiding any issues the girl might have. She laughed with Mallory and even gave a smile that was less than uncomfortable, and she even threw in a good story about Grace and Sarah, making everyone in the room break out in a chuckle. If Cordelia wanted to play a game, then Elliott was going to play and win.

Cordelia knew the girl was trying to hide beneath the charming façade, one she had noticed the girl had mastered, but she wasn't going to push her too much. She wanted Elliott to think the ball was in her court. While Elliott was charming and seemed calm, her body language was a whole different story. She was fidgety and closed off, her arms folded in front of her. Cordelia was dying for Mallory to make her exit, but she also knew she couldn't ask the young witch all the questions she wanted, she knew the girl would just close off. So she kept the conversation going, trying to squeeze as much information out of Elliott without her noticing. She told Mallory to tell Elliott a funny story from before Mallory was a part of the coven, about an incident with another girl at school where Mallory quite literally hung her by her toes. Elliott picked up on Cordelia's seemingly innocent propositions and told a fake story about a boy who used to chase her on the playground until she was forced to climb a tree and refused to come down. The story was technically true, but she didn't want to tell the women it was actually about a foster parent who was trying to hit her. Mallory appeared to buy it, but Cordelia didn't seem to.

The women sat and conversed for what seemed like hours, until Mallory excused herself to head out to the greenhouse, to which Cordelia warned her not to stay out there too long. After she left Cordelia made her way to the fridge, asking Elliott, "Do you have any allergies?"

Elliott hesitated before responding, the room once again as tense as it was when she first entered. "Uh shrimp, it makes me swell up." She quietly responded, her charming demeanor fading.

Cordelia nodded at the girl then went back to hunting in the fridge, pulling out a few jars before setting them on the counter. "Grape or strawberry jam?" She asked, throwing a slightly playful smirk at the girl. Elliott looked confused for a moment and Cordelia asked "Do you like peanut butter and jelly?"

Elliott almost laughed at the question. Peanut butter and jelly? Was she 5? She thought of making a snarky comment, but instead she responded "Oh I'm not hungry its fine don't worry about making me anything."

"Elliott, you haven't eaten in over 12 hours, you need to eat something. So i'll ask again, do you like peanut butter and jelly?"

Elliott wanted to argue but she knew there was no way to get out of this without eating, so she tried to lighten the mood, "I don't trust anyone who DOESN'T like peanut butter and jelly."

Cordelia giggled at the remark as she was pulling out the bread and said "So grape or strawberry?"

Elliott immediately responded "Whichever you have more of is fine, I'm not picky." Cordelia stopped arranging the bread on plates and looked over at the girl who was now staring out the kitchen window, smiling at a dog that was walking with his owner. She likes dogs, Cordelia thought as she took a mental note. Once the girl had looked away from the window and made eye contact, Cordelia continued "We have plenty of both, which would you like?"

Elliott thought for a minute, honestly not remembering the last time she had picked her own jam flavor. "Strawberry" she decided.

Cordelia laughed and put the grape jam back in the fridge, strawberry was her favorite too. "Crunchy or creamy peanut butter?" she asked again.

Elliott started to say whatever was fine again, but before the first word was even out of her mouth Cordelia shot her a look, so Elliott responded "Creamy, but please never ask me to say that again." Elliott hated the word "creamy", almost as much as she hated "panties" and "moist".

Cordelia chuckled again. "I won't" she responded, pulling the container of peanut butter out of the fridge.

"You keep peanut butter in the fridge? Yea that doesn't make this place seem at all nutty." Elliott quipped before she caught herself. She played it off, but she really didn't want to get comfortable with this woman.

Cordelia did a belly laugh at the joke, catching on to the slight pun. "I personally hate it but one of the girls will have a full on meltdown if the peanut butter isn't in the fridge" she retorted.

"Well then I guess I have the golden ticket to mess with you guys, just put the peanut butter in a normal location. You're making it far too easy for me." Elliott quipped back, finding herself to be enjoying the banter.

Cordelia smiled at the girl and brought the sandwiches to the counter, sliding the plate across it to the girl on the other side. "If you do that I might have to kill you, or Queenie might if she has to hear Madison whine about it."

Elliott looked down at the sandwich, it was white bread sliced diagonally with the crusts on, and she chuckled at the effort put into such a little sandwich. Cordelia noticed and asked, "What? You don't like crusts?"

"No crusts are fine, I never thought pb&j would require so many choices." Elliot chuckled, offering Cordelia a cheeky half smile.

"Good, because if you didn't like crusts I might have to kick you out of this coven, crusts are the best part." Cordelia joked, but pretended to be serious.

"I agree, people who don't like crusts most definitely grow up to be serial killers. I would bet money Ted Bundy cut off his crusts." Elliott joked back, biting into the sandwich.

Cordelia almost spit out the sandwich that was in her mouth, trying to keep from choking as she laughed. As closed off as Elliott was, Cordelia could see just how sweet and funny Elliott really was, when she was relaxed of course. The teenager sitting in front of her was totally different from the one she had seen the night before, or even the one she had seen earlier that day. Cordelia had wanted to ask Elliott about why she left the night before, but she didn't want to risk Elliott closing off again, so she instead chose to discuss the plans for the day. "Well dinner is at 7 tonight, there's only a few girls that are staying at the house right now, just Mallory and a few of the members of the council but I'm sure they would love to meet you. I have some work to catch up on and a council meeting after dinner so the day is pretty much yours to explore the house or do whatever. The library is upstairs, there's a tv room upstairs as well as a tv in the living room, and Mallory is out in the greenhouse. If you want to leave your clothes in the laundry room the housekeeper will be in later to do laundry and tidy up." She finished.

Elliott perked up at the mention of a library and nodded as the supreme smile and left the kitchen, heading upstairs to her study. Elliott finished her sandwich and grabbed a glass of water after she had rinsed her plate and took off to explore the house. She first grabbed her laundry and brought it down, searching for the laundry room. When she finally found it she opened the door and saw a man in a suit standing near the machines. "Oh sorry," she said, "Cordelia said I could leave my laundry in here so I just came to drop it off."

The man slowly turned to face her and said " Oh yes, leave it here, I can do it later. You must be new. I'm the groundskeeper, Spalding. I take care of the house."

The man kind of creeped Elliott out, but she didn't want to be rude so she replied "Oh, sorry I thought Cordelia said a woman took care of the house, my mistake. Nice to meet you, I'm Elliott."

The man chuckled at her response, replying "There is a woman who helps, but I've taken care of this house for years. Cordelia doesn't take too kindly to me I'm afraid. Pitty."

Elliott asked the man where she should leave her clothes and politely left, brushing off the encounter and going to search the rest of the house. She quickly found the small library and scanned the shelf for any interesting titles, grabbing one of the thicker books off the shelf, The history of witchcraft. She plopped down on the old leather couch and lost herself in the text, staying there for hours.

Cordelia briefly left her study to check on Elliott, and found her completely immersed in a book. Not wanting to disturb her, she stood in the doorway for a few moments and smiled, then quickly went back to her work.

A few hours later, Elliott was jarred from her reading by the front door slamming shut. She heard two girls giggling and decided it would be a good time for a bathroom break. She stumbled out of the library and towards the communal bathroom down the hall, running into the two girls during her trek.

"Who the fuck are you?" a short blonde girl rudely asked. Madison, Elliott guessed.

"Girl shut the fuck up. Why do you always have to be such a bitch? Cordelia told us there was a new student, don't act so fucking surprised." The other girl retorted. She offered out a hand to Elliott, "I'm Queenie and this is Madison. Don't mind her, she's always a cold bitch."

Elliott chuckled at the boldness of the other girl, "I'm Elliott." She offered, shaking the girls hand.

"You must be the girl Cordelia was losing her shit over. Haven't seen poor Delia that worked up since dear misty got trapped in hell." Madison quipped. Mallory was right, this girl was a huge bitch, but it was kind of comical.

Before Elliott had a chance to ask who Misty was, Cordelia peeked her head out of her study. "Madison, leave her alone." She sternly said.

"Ooo scary supreme." Madison quipped back.

"Madison shut up you know she could kill your ass, new girl probably could too." Queenie retorted.

Madison sized Elliott up, then said, "Who knows, maybe third times the charm." The strutted downstairs.

Elliott made eye contact with both Queenie and Cordelia and the trio burst out in stunned laughter before heading their separate ways.


	7. Chapter 7

Just as Cordelia had said, dinner was served at 7 pm on the dot. Elliott had hung back an extra few minutes to finish the chapter she was on in her book, and when she came down the girls were already giggling about how one of the girls that had gone home for the summer had accidentally set her brothers hair on fire. He was fine, just a small bald spot on the back of his head, but the girls joked about how he would never bother his sister again. Cordelia mad eye contact with the girl as she walked in and offered her a soft smile. While there was an empty seat next to Cordelia, Elliott instead chose a seat next to Mallory at the opposite end of the table, something Cordelia definitely noticed, but she wasn't going to say anything. It was obvious the girl was trying to keep her distance, not wanting to draw attention to herself, so the supreme carried on the conversation, stopping only briefly to introduce Elliott to Zoe, another witch on her council. Zoe offered her a hand and Elliott shook it, but luckily the conversation didn't turn to questions about her, although Elliott assumed they were coming.

The witches continued to converse about funny stories and updates they had gotten from their sisters, one of them had gotten a job for the summer at a steakhouse, only to get fired a few weeks later for making her manager a mute, temporarily of course, she just wanted him to stop hitting on her, to which the witches at the table all agreed she should have made that permanent.

Once the conversation had died down a bit Madison turned her focus to Elliott "So what's your story new girl? You don't seem like the type who would come here on your own for "sisters". Did you kill someone?"

Cordelia watched Elliott's face turn hard and Madison gave her a small smirk. Cordelia was about to tell Madison to knock it off when she continued, "Got it. It's ok, we've all done it. I killed a bus full of boys and Zoe fucked the life out of her ex-boyfriend." Madison chuckled at that last bit before continuing, "But seriously, what's your story? Mommy and daddy didn't want to have a weirdo at their house?"

"Madison, now's not the time for that. Stop." Cordelia said harshly, more harshly than she usually talked to any of the girls.

Madison slightly recoiled at the response, glaring at Cordelia. "I was kidding. Literally everyone here knows I'm joking."

Elliott carefully thought about her response, wanting to out Madison in her place without giving too much away. "I pulverized a guy who was trying to rob a friend. At least, that's what I got caught for." She said pointedly, her face and eyes hard as she threw Madison a searing glare. Madison's face dropped, she hadn't expected the girl actually respond to her. She continued, "And I don't have parents, just so you know."

Cordelia visibly recoiled at the girls harsh response, she knew Elliott had killed people, she saw it in her visions, but the way the girl said it made it sound like a hobby, like her body count was higher than her age, and that didn't sit right with Delia.

Queenie cut in to try and break some of the tension, offering "So you were a foster kid? Me too. Took me frying some guys arm for Miss Cordelia to find me. I didn't even know witches were a real thing before she found me."

Elliott looked at Queenie and her eyes softened a bit, offering her a small nod before asking, "You fried some guys arm? How?"

Queenie gave her a small smirk before turning towards Cordelia, silently asking her permission. Cordelia didn't give her approval, but she also didn't say no, so Queenie turned her gaze towards Madison, and put her palm over the candle in the center of the table.

"Ow! You bitch! Can you ever pick someone who isn't me?" Madison responded, the bottom of her own palm blistering.

"Girl that was barely anything and you deserved it." Queenie responded, catching a smirk from Cordelia.

Cordelia jumped in, "Queenie, you aren't supposed to use that to hurt your sisters, you know better." She wasn't really upset with Queenie, Madison did sort of deserve it, but she knew as the supreme she couldn't condone the behavior.

Elliott stared at the two bickering women across the table from her, trying to piece together what she just witnessed. When the two stopped arguing and turned their gaze back on her she asked, "So you're like a voodoo doll?"

"Exactly." Queenie responded, "Among other things. That's just the first power I had. I use to fuck with my foster brothers all the time. They couldn't figure it out." She chuckled at all the memories of her pranks.

The girls continued the conversation discussing their first powers, Zoe had killed two boys by having sex with them, one of them she made sure to mention deserved it. Madison talked about being able to move things with her mind, telekinesis, Cordelia clarified. Madison used it to drop a light on her director's head. Mallory was found floating above her bed in her sleep, but she also made sure to mention that she could bring things back to life. Elliott sat and laughed at the stories, not saying much. The attention quickly turned to her and she realized it was her turn to tell about her powers, but she really didn't even know what they were or how they worked, she just knew she could do it. She described it to the girls, trying to make it seem as tame as killing someone possibly could. Zoe and Madison looked at each other and offered her an explanation. "Oh, you basically turn their brains to mush. Fiona did that in front of us once. It was creepy but cool." Zoe offered her, continuing, "Fiona was the last supreme, Cordelia's mom."

Elliott nodded in understanding, glancing over at Cordelia and watching her face fall slightly. Delia quickly recovered as the girls continued to talk about stories of Fiona. Basically, they all thought she was a bitch, and from the sounds of it she was. They told stories of Fiona disappearing when the coven needed her most, only visiting when she had something to gain. She basically abandoned the coven and her role as supreme, choosing instead to fly around the world and spend her time with a string of questionable men. Cordelia stayed silent during the conversation, and Elliott could tell her mother was a sore spot for her, so she quickly changed the subject, choosing to ask about the other girls in the coven, if nothing else to make it seem like she was interested. The girls didn't hesitate to fill her in, Mallory and Zoe talking very fondly of all the girls, while Madison and Queenie chose to tell all of the gossipy parts, like who was a boyfriend stealer and which one would sleep with anything that breathes. Cordelia tried to corral them gossipy girls, but she knew it was no use, so she just sat back and offered a little insight to Mallory and Zoe's comments.

While the girls talked Elliott found herself trying to sort the women into houses. Madison was a Slytherin, through and through. Mallory was a Hufflepuff, very loyal and loving. Zoe was a Ravenclaw, calculated and clever. Queenie was a Gryffindor, maybe with a touch of Slytherin. Cordelia she couldn't place, she didn't seem at all like a Slytherin, maybe a Gryffindor, but she didn't think she had always been that way. At first Elliott would have said she was a Ravenclaw, but she didn't seem to be motivated from a rational place. She seemed to do things based on feelings, which is Hufflepuff territory.

Cordelia noticed the girl had slightly zoned out, it was almost like she could see the gears turning in her head. The other girls didn't seem to notice much, Elliott was participating in the conversation enough to make it appear that she was listening, and if you weren't paying close attention you would probably think she was. She was good at pretending.

Dinner was finished and all the girls had cleared their plates, Elliott took hers to the kitchen and as she passed Cordelia the supreme noticed hers had barely been touched, just enough so that it looked like she had eaten some. Cordelia made a mental note to try and get Elliott to eat a snack later, after all the only thing she had eaten in the last 20 hours was a pb&j and a few forkfuls of her dinner. She thought that Elliott probably wasn't used to eating regular meals, and the idea made her stomach knot.

Elliott excused herself to her room and pulled her burner phone out of her backpack, checking for texts from David. There were a few that she responded to, asking how she was and if she was ok. As she went to slide the phone back into her bag it vibrated, and she checked the screen. "Wanna make a run?" it said. Her stomach dropped. It wasn't from David, it was from another friend, if she would even call him that. More like a creepy boss who wouldn't leave her alone. "Can't," She said, "Got caught up, probably won't be able to make one for a while." She didn't want to tell him that the last run had ended in a scuffle that left the buyer dead and her bruised. Teenage girls really shouldn't be doing these things after all, especially with something shady as trafficking drugs. But her "Friend" knew of her powers and definitely used them to his advantage. She didn't tell him she was done, after all she still needed money, even with being at the coven life wasn't free.

Luckily the guy usually didn't get mad if she said no to runs. He knew her situation and knew if she got moved somewhere new it wasn't wise for her to make a run so soon, that's how you get caught. Moving here would buy her some time, but at most a couple weeks until he was persistent again. If she waited too long she knew he would come and find her and "put her in her place". She had seen it done to other runners, and she didn't want to risk him finding out she was at the coven, that would just make him even more angry.

He responded, a short "ok", and Elliott knew she was in the clear, sliding her phone back into a secret pocket she made in the bottom of her bag. She made her way down to the living room where the housekeeper had lit a fire, and sat down on couch opposite it with her book cracking it open and continuing where she had left off.

Meanwhile, Cordelia and Mallory had gone to Delia's room to talk before council about some spells Mallory had been working on earlier in the greenhouse. Cordelia had remembered the clothes she had left for Elliott were still on her bathroom counter, so she went to grab them and threw them on the bed next to Mallory before going to tidy some other things up. Mallory eyeballed the clothes and quickly understood why Elliott didn't want to wear them. "Are those the clothes you left for Elliott?" She asked quietly.

"Yea, I still don't understand why she went all the way to her room for clothes, I put them right next to the towel so I know she saw them." Cordelia answered, making eye contact with Mallory and noticing her timid expression. "What?" she asked.

Mallory contemplated brushing it off as nothing, it was obvious Elliott didn't want anyone to know, but Mallory didn't like lying to the supreme. It didn't sit right with her, so she told the truth, "She probably didn't want to wear them because she didn't want everyone to see that she was covered in bruises. I saw her when she was walking towards her room, they were everywhere. I think she hoped that I didn't notice."

Cordelia tried to keep her best poker face, but she couldn't. She knew Elliott had a rough time, but still hearing it was difficult and it hurt her. She didn't deserve it and Cordelia still felt slightly responsible. Mallory saw the pain on her face and tried to fix it, saying "I mean it's probably a good thing she's here now with us, right?"

Cordelia's face didn't look any less upset, and Mallory had a feeling there was more to it than she was letting on, so she pushed the supreme to talk to her. "What's going on with her? She won't mention anything about her past except that she doesn't have parents, and you've been practically walking on eggshells all day around her and everyone else. What's up?"

Cordelia didn't think she was ready to tell the girls about the whole truth of what was happening, but she also didn't like keeping them in the dark either, so she offered some explanation. "Elliott was the girl I kept having visions about, the one I was trying so hard to find. She had been a runaway for a few years and was living on her own, I don't really know a whole lot about that yet. She didn't want to come here, I basically forced her after I intervened last night when her friend was getting robbed at a gas station. It's tricky with her right now. She doesn't trust me and she's the type that will leave at any moment, so I'm trying to be careful with her."

Mallory knew that wasn't the whole story. Cordelia had dealt with girls who didn't want to stay before, girls who ran away in the middle of the night and never came back. She always told them that if someone didn't want to be here they didn't have to, no matter the circumstances. So why was this any different? She vocalized this to Delia, "You've dealt with difficult girls before, girls who didn't want to stay, and you've never tried so hard to make them, so why is she different? Why do you care so much?"

Cordelia tried to play it off, come up with another half-truth, "Because her powers are a lot stronger than those other girls, and she doesn't have any control over them. She could really hurt some people if she doesn't learn." She hoped Mallory would take that as a sufficient answer, but she knew Mallory wouldn't.

"But why do you care so much? You're walking around babying her like she's your kid and you're trying to make a good first impression!" Mallory responded, watching the color drain from her Supreme's face. She knew she was onto something but it was evident Cordelia didn't want to verbalize it. Maybe she wanted to adopt her, given that she didn't have any parents. Mallory was planning on dropping the subject but turned to the witch and said, "If you don't want to tell me what's going on that's fine, but you should at least tell the council, let them know what we're dealing with."

Cordelia agreed with her, she had to be honest about this, especially since everyone knew something wasn't right. Her hiding it from everyone wasn't helping, but she also didn't want to risk Elliott finding out too soon and leaving. So she made a decision to tell Mallory, to tell her everything, making sure no one was in earshot of her room. She sat down on the bed teary eyed and began with "Elliott can't find out about this, at least not anytime soon." Mallory agreed before the supreme continued, "Elliott is my kid. And Hanks. We gave her up for adoption. I didn't think she would have powers, but she does, and now I need to keep her here because if she doesn't learn to control them she'll be dangerous and I don't think anyone could stop her."

Cordelia hadn't ever vocalized the last part, that she thought Elliott was too strong for her to even stop. She was the Supreme, she was supposed to be able to handle anything. But Elliott's mind was a wall, Cordelia had tried throughout the day to break through, to see if her powers had any effect on her, and they didn't. When the girls got mad at each other and Cordelia could sense that they were going to hurt each other, she was able to control them and diffuse the situation, to stop them, but with Elliott she couldn't, and that scared her. She had gone into Elliott's room and tried to get a vision of her by touching her backpack, but all she could get was fragments, pieces that didn't make sense, and she couldn't ever see the girl in her visions, that's why it took so long to find her.

Mallory sat there silent, she had an idea of what was going on, but she never imagined it would be this. Cordelia was right, Elliott couldn't be told until they were sure she was able to handle it. She turned and pulled Cordelia to her, letting her cry for a few minutes before both of them pulled themselves together. "You have to tell the council. If nothing else, they'll be there to support you." Cordelia agreed, and after the supreme wiped her tears the two stood up and exited the room, Cordelia heading downstairs to grab the council and relocate them to her study. As she was heading towards the kitchen, she spotted Elliott asleep on the couch, her book still cracked open on her lap. She grabbed the young girls book and covered her with a blanket, smiling softly before continuing on.


	8. Chapter 8

The council had met and Cordelia reluctantly told them everything. They had all agreed that Elliott wasn't to be told anything, and that the focus right now was to make sure she was under their supervision and with the coven. Cordelia was relieved they didn't ask many questions outside of Elliott's abilities, mostly they were concerned with how Cordelia was handling it. She informed them of what little she knew of the girls background so they knew what questions to avoid asking and things that might make her angry, and after discussing the normal procedural things the council was adjourned.

Cordelia made her way back downstairs to see Elliott had awoken and was once again reading her book, she passed by her and headed towards the kitchen, grabbing herself a glass of wine and some snacks before heading back and sitting down next to the girl, forcing her to look away from her book. "Did you have a nice nap?" She asked calmly, offering the girl a smile.

The girl softly nodded, "I probably shouldn't have slept, I'll be up all night." She responded quietly, not used to making small talk.

"You needed the sleep, I'm sure the greenhouse wasn't the most comfortable place." Cordelia chuckled, offering her a bowl of chex-mix. The girl hesitated before Cordelia continued, "You didn't eat much of your dinner, you know eating food is what keeps you alive."

Elliott gave a slight chuckle before reaching for the bowl and grabbing a few pieces, "I don't eat that much" She offered the older woman, knowing it wasn't a sufficient answer but hoping it would make the supreme drop the subject.

"Well what foods do you like to eat?" The supreme asked, "I mean you're still here so you must have been eating something, unless you're really a ghost."

Elliott chuckled in response, "I am absolutely a ghost. Sorry to break it to you." The two shared a laugh before she continued, "I don't really have any favorite foods, I'm not picky, so you don't have to worry about me."

"Well I know you're allergic to shrimp, any other allergies? Shellfish?" Cordelia asked.

"No just shrimp, other shellfish are fine for some reason." Elliott responded.

Cordelia offered the young girl some more chex-mix, and Elliott took another, slightly larger, handful. The supreme noticed the book she was reading and saw she was almost completely done with it. "The history of witchcraft huh? You really sped through that, it took me over three months to get through it. You like to read?"

"Yea, I do when I have time. This ones really interesting, with all the witch hunters and stuff. Are they still around?" Elliott asked.

"Unfortunately yes, but they aren't as big as they used to be. Fiona got rid of most of them before she died. It was probably one of the best things she did for the coven." Cordelia left out the part in which she was married to one of them, it was still hard to process that so much of her life had been a lie.

Elliott took notice that Cordelia didn't refer to her mother as "mom", but since Cordelia was talking about her Elliott didn't feel as uncomfortable bringing the subject up, "Yea Fiona sounds like a real piece of work." She chuckled.

"Yea she really was. She had her good moments, but she really was a piece of work." Cordelia laughed.

"So in the book it says that the supreme is randomly chosen in each generation of the coven, but she was the supreme and you are now, so how does that work?" Elliott asked carefully.

"I mean it is randomly chosen, we don't really know exactly how its chosen. But me getting it after my mother is definitely unusual, it's never happened before. I can't really explain it other than fate I guess." Cordelia explained. She really couldn't, there was no reason as to why she was chosen, it just was.

"And you have to pick out your successor and watch them rise as you die? That SUCKS. I wouldn't be able to do it." Elliott said truthfully.

"It's just the way things are; I'm not upset with it. I'm not going to be like Fiona and kill the girl I think is supposed to succeed me." Cordelia said.

"Wait, what? She tried to kill you? That's actually insane!" Elliott exclaimed.

Cordelia chuckled before explaining, "No. She didn't try to kill me. No one ever thought I would be supreme; I didn't even think I would be supreme. We all thought it was Madison, so when Fiona found out she killed her to save herself. I told you, she was a piece of work."

Elliott looked shocked "Ok I might be a self-serving bitch, but that's way worse." The two of them sat there laughing for what seemed like a half hour, but was only a few minutes. Both women seemed relaxed, this was the most honest conversation they had had all day. Elliott had seemed content for the first time in a while, she wasn't watching everything she said. It was nice.

Cordelia didn't let the self-serving bitch comment slide, but she also wasn't going to ruin the moment. The two continued to talk about Elliott's favorite books (Harry Potter obviously) and Elliott even offered a story about how one of her foster parents was nice enough to buy her a library membership, and how she spent her days after school sitting on the floor of said library surrounded by mounds of books. Cordelia felt this would be a good time to talk about the testing they did for new witches, saying "You know, we have some tests we make girls do when they come here to gauge where they are in academics and see what abilities they have. Would it be ok if I tested you tomorrow? You aren't excepted to pass it. It just shows us what we need to work on outside of witchcraft." She braced for Elliott to shut her down, but surprisingly she agreed.

Cordelia then tried to steer the conversation towards Elliott's friends, particularly David. "So what's up with David? How did you two meet?" She asked.

Elliott's eyes hardened a bit, she wasn't angry, but you could tell it was sore subject. "We met in Foster care, they placed us together at my last home."

Cordelia watched the girl's body language shift and she knew she had come too close, Elliott was slowly beginning to shut her out, so she didn't want to press the girl any further, even though she knew there was more to the story. So she offered the girl a smile and said "Well he's welcome here anytime, Sarah too."

Elliott nodded at the woman and gave a soft thank you before the room had tensed again. Elliott was mentally beating herself up for feeling comfortable, she was still planning on leaving tonight. As nice as this place and most of these women seemed, this wasn't a home for her. She didn't belong here and she knew it, so why did everything seem so easy? She excused herself to go to the bathroom downstairs. It was a normal bathroom so she didn't have to worry about other girls walking in. She locked the door behind her and sat on the floor with her knees to her chest. She was being dramatic and she knew it, if she saw someone else doing this shed tell them to pull it together, but everything was so overwhelming. Every bone in her body was on high alert all the time, that's been her normal for years. Now, she's more relaxed and it feels uncomfortable. She shouldn't be comfortable here, they FORCED her to be here. She should be angry and disconnected and mean, but she wasn't. Everyone here was so NICE, except for Madison. Elliott hated that, she wanted them to be mean and cruel, that she could deal with, she wouldn't care if she left. She's only been here for less than 24 hours, she really shouldn't care about leaving now, but she found she kind of did. Elliott was so inside her head she didn't notice that the angrier she got with herself, the more the vase on the bathroom counter began to levitate. It was at least three feet above the counter by the time Cordelia knocked on the door to check on her, breaking Elliott's train of thought and sending the vase falling until it shattered on the floor. The women on both sides of the door jumped at the sound. Elliott shrank back against the wall in a panic, she didn't do well with loud sounds. She started to hyperventilate, her blood rushing to her ears. Cordelia kept knocking on the door, getting no response from the girl inside until she was banging, but still nothing. She reached above the ledge for the key but it wasn't there, her silently cursing the girls who took it but didn't put it back. She didn't want to transmutate because off the shards of glass she was sure littered the floor. She was about to go search for the key when she was hit with the startling realization that she had the ability to unlock the door, she was the supreme. Unlocking a door was probably the easiest thing she could do.

Cordelia focused and heard the door click, and she grabbed the handle and swung it open, surveying the room. As she suspected, glass was everywhere. All over the floor, the counter and all over Elliott. She saw the girl curled up into a ball in the corner shaking, with her head staring down at the floor. The girl was obviously crying, and on instinct Cordelia moved toward her to comfort her. Elliott didn't hear Cordelia come in, too focused on trying to calm herself down. In her peripheral vision she spotted a figure quickly moving towards her and she cowered even more, pushing her back up against the wall and bringing her knees as close to her as possible, hiding her face in them as she brought her hands over her head. A string of involuntary pleas came out of her mouth, but neither her nor Cordelia could understand them, it was hard to hear anything with her hyperventilating so rapidly. Cordelia stopped herself in her tracks when she realized she was scaring the girl further, and briefly panicked about what she was going to do. She couldn't just sit there and watch the girl panic until she passed out or managed to calm herself down, but if she moved close to her it would send her into a larger panic. She tried to get Elliott to listen to her, but she knew from her own panic attacks that Elliott probably couldn't hear a word she was saying. She moved slowly towards the girl this time, but at that point Elliott's head was so buried she probably couldn't even see her anyways. She kneeled down slowly in front of the girl, cringing when she felt glass under her knees, and tried to gently unfold the girls tangled body. When Elliott felt her arms being lowered from her head she immediately wrapped them around her knees, jerking her head up to meet the woman's gaze, although with the black spots invading her vision everything in front of her just appeared hazy and distorted. Cordelia chose to slide in next to her and pull the girl towards her body, surprisingly not getting much resistance as Elliott curled up on her side. Cordelia cradled her head with one hand and brought her lips right next to Elliott's ear, whispering to try to calm the girl down, "Shh shh shh, its ok. Just breathe. You're safe." She took deep breathes to try and get Elliott to match her breathing, but Elliott's body had a mind of its own, shaking with every rapid breath she pulled in. Cordelia tried to pull her in tighter, but not too tight to crush her. She had read that compressing the central nervous system helped, but if she held her too tight she might break a rib.

Elliott had no idea who was holding her, the blood still too loud in her ears for her to make out any of the woman's words. She felt herself being held and slightly rocked, which did help to calm her a little bit. She felt the woman's arms tighten around her while her brain tried to force her body to regulate it's breathing. Slowly, the black spots in her vision cleared and she could faintly hear Cordelia whispering to her, still holding her tightly to her chest. As her breathing evened out, tears welled up in her eyes. She found herself pulling away from the older woman and curling back up into her ball, shielding her face so Cordelia couldn't see her tears. Cordelia took the cue that Elliott didn't really want to be comforted anymore and got up for a moment, heading to the kitchen and returning a few minutes later. By that point Elliott had calmed herself down to the point she was responsive, her tears dried on her shirt sleeve. She looked up at Cordelia and grabbed the water she was offered, Delia's heart breaking at her bloodshot eyes. The panic attack had left her with soft hiccups, her body still trembling every time she did. She offered Cordelia a soft "Thank you" as she took a sip of water, her eyes still glazed over. Cordelia could tell she still was a bit spacy from the attack, so she didn't really try to talk to her. Neither of the two of them spoke for a few minutes, simply sitting next to each other on broken glass.

Once the hiccups had subsided, Cordelia turned towards the girl and pointed to the pile of shattered glass near the center of the room. "So how did that happen?"

Elliott stared straight ahead, shaking her head. "I don't know. I must've knocked it or something." It wasn't a lie, she truly didn't know what happened, all she knew is Cordelia knocked on the door and the vase came crashing down. She didn't see it levitating in front of her.

Cordelia didn't seem to buy it, but she wasn't going to press further. Elliott looked dazed and exhausted, her eyes still an alarming shade of red. "Can you stand?" she asked, standing herself and offering the girl a hand.

The girl looked at Cordelia's hand before shaking her head. "I got it." She said, lifting herself to her feet. She didn't come across as harsh, and Cordelia tried not to take it personally. The supreme cleared a path through the broken glass with a flick of her finger, both girls ignoring the stinging cuts that riddled their bodies as they walked to the kitchen. Cordelia pulled a stool out for Elliott at the counter, grabbing the girls arm as she fell a little too fast for Cordelia's liking. "I need to get the glass out." She said softly, feeling the shards underneath her hand. Elliott didn't appear to resist her, and as Cordelia examined her arm she cringed at the large pieces stuck in the young witch's skin, noticing the dark purple bruising the girl had been trying to hide before. "This is probably going to hurt." Cordelia warned the girl, only getting a shrug in return. She slowly worked on picking the glass from her skin, starting with the larger pieces with her hands and using magic to remove all the smaller pieces. She looked up at Elliott for any sign of discomfort, but the girl just stared blankly at her bloody arm. Cordelia moved onto the other arm and her legs, repeating the same process. The girl didn't flinch once; Cordelia wasn't sure she could feel anything.

After cleaning her own wounds, Cordelia focused on making the girl a cup of chamomile tea with some herbs to relax her, setting the hot cup down in front of the girl. "Drink it, it will help."

The girl offered her a small thank you before taking a sip, making brief eye contact with the woman before lowering her gaze again. "I'm sorry" she whispered, almost so quiet Cordelia couldn't hear.

Cordelia looked at the girl and found herself walking around the counter towards her, lifting her head up with her hands. The girl jerked slightly, but met her gaze. "Listen to me. You have absolutely NOTHING to be sorry about. You've had a lot of trauma. No one expects you to be ok. I don't want to hear you apologize for something like this ever again, it's not your fault."

The girl's eyes got watery and she slowly nodded, not in the mood to argue. Cordelia released her face and pulled the girl into a hug, feeling her tense at the contact, but then relax and wrap her arms around her. Elliott finished her tea while Cordelia cleaned the broken glass from the floor of the bathroom, throwing the shards in the trash. The supreme looked at the young girls empty cup and grabbed it, tossing it in the sink before she turned back to face her. "I think it's time for bed, how about you?" The girl nodded and rose from her chair, following behind the older witch. Once upstairs, Cordelia motioned for Elliott to enter the supreme's room. "Come on, you'll stay with me tonight." She said gently.

"It's ok, you really don't have to, I'll be ok, I have my own room." Elliott responded, hoping the witch would concede.

"I would feel better if you stayed here tonight. I have a big bed, it's really not a problem." The supreme responded, making it clear the girl was staying whether she liked it or not. Elliott didn't want to argue, so she walked into the room, standing just inside the doorway awkwardly. Cordelia strolled past her to the dresser and pulled out some pj pants and a long sleeved shirt, tossing it toward the girl. "Think fast!" she said as the clothes flew through the air, offering the girl a cheeky smile.

"Oh its fine I have clothes in my room I can sleep in, I don't have to wear yours." Elliott said quickly once she realized what the clothes were starting to step towards the door.

"You can wear mine, go change in the bathroom." Cordelia responded firmly, flicking her finger and closing the door Elliott was inching towards. She nodded her head toward the bathroom as Elliott slowly made her way across the room, closing the bathroom door behind her. She caught a glance of herself in the mirror, she looked awful and she knew it. She looked empty, her eyes puffy and bloodshot, her arms shaking beside her. She quickly looked away, hating the girl she saw in the mirror. Her strong façade had faded, now she was left looking vulnerable and scared. She cursed under her breath and started to undress, she knew she wasn't getting out of staying with Cordelia, and to be honest she was exhausted. She put on the pants and shirt, noting how soft they were. They smelled like Cordelia, clean and warm, and for some reason that comforted her a bit.

Cordelia was already sitting on the bed when Elliott opened the door, the pj's far too big on her, making her look younger than she was. Cordelia smiled at her and patted the bed next to her. "Hop in."

Elliott sat on the edge of the other side of the bed, slowly shifting her body onto it. She was uncomfortable and Cordelia knew it, but she also knew she couldn't bear the idea of the small girl sleeping alone, not after the night she'd had. Cordelia threw back the covers on the other side of the bed, and the girl laid down underneath them curling up on her side.

Cordelia got up, remembering something she had left downstairs, and told the witch she would be right back. She was gone only a few minutes, but when she returned she saw Elliott was fast asleep, stealing all of the blankets. Cordelia stood in the doorway and smiled softly at the girl. For some weird reason, Cordelia just liked to watch the girl, take her in. Maybe she was becoming motherly, or maybe she just liked seeing the girl at peace. She stared a few minutes longer before she walked towards the bed and slipped in, turning to face the girl and pushing a stray piece of hair from her forehead. She turned off the light and shut her eyes, visions invading her mind.


	9. Chapter 9

Elliott awoke in the middle of the night, something she regularly did. She didn't know the last time she had fully slept 8 hours, maybe in a foster home. But since leaving and living on her own, Elliott was far more used to getting no sleep, staying awake at all hours to keep herself safe, especially when she was living on the streets. She noticed the both of them had shifted in the night, with Cordelia holding her, one strong arm thrown over her protectively. As she tried to untangle herself from the woman, Cordelia's grip on her tightened, making it impossible for her to move without waking the older witch up. She noticed Cordelia's face was scrunched up and sweaty, her body slightly jerking every few moments. She wasn't a thrasher like Elliott was, but Elliott still recognized a nightmare when she saw one.

The younger witch had managed to contort herself enough so her hands were free and her body was facing the woman. She had a trick up her sleeve that used to work when her foster siblings had nightmares. If that didn't work, she would wake the woman up. She placed her hands over the woman's forehead and focused, seeing into the woman's head. She saw the whole dream in a matter of seconds, shrinking back from the woman when she realized what she was dreaming about. The man who had shot up the salon, she was in love with him. Elliott didn't know much about the shooting. It was before Grace was in charge, she wasn't really allowed to hang around the salon while Marie was alive. She remembered Grace and Sarah crying about it though, their friends dead. Elliott pulled herself together, after all, changing the woman's dream would be easier than waking her up and having to face her. So she repositioned her hands over Delias forehead and concentrated, using the womans own memories to alter her dream. She didn't want to alter it too much, just refocus what the landscape of the dream was. She used the same man, but happier memories. She briefly saw a flash of what the new dream would be, the first time they told each other they loved each other, them having a baby, their wedding. Elliott pulled back and repositioned herself, thinking about the memoires she had seen. If Cordelia had had a child, obviously something had gone wrong because she didn't appear to have one now. Elliott knew not to bring up the subject, not only would it probably make the supreme uncomfortable, but she didn't want to reveal her power to the supreme, deciding it was best to keep a few gifts to herself. This one she didn't need to control. She thought for a while about the dream before falling back asleep herself.

When Cordelia's alarm went off the next morning she awoke to an empty bed, rolling over and seeing the pajamas she had lent Elliott already cleaned and folded on the bed where Elliott used to be. She stood up and headed downstairs in her pj's for a cup of coffee, noticing Elliott's empty room as she passed. A pot of coffee was already brewed and seemed fresh, so Cordelia grabbed a cup and went in search for the young girl. She wasn't in the library, nor the living room, but Mallory was up and she couldn't find her either, so she assumed the two were probably together out in the greenhouse. She quickly got ready for the day, choosing a short black dress with red detailing and long sheer sleeves. Normally she would have slid on a pair of heels but she instead went for a simple pair of black sandals, throwing them on the making her way towards the greenhouse.

The closer she got to the greenhouse the more she could hear the two girls giggling. She smiled to herself, happy that Elliott had appeared to settle in decently well, and headed for the open door. She poked her head in and saw Elliott sitting on top of the table, her legs swinging beneath her as she giggled at something Mallory had said, who was working next to her on reviving a dead plant. She knocked on the door and the two girls turned towards her, Elliott smiling widely. "Good morning ladies, sleep well?" she said, looking over at Elliott.

"Yea, did you?" she responded, already knowing the answer.

"I did." Cordelia responded, smiling softly at the girl. Even though the child said she had slept well, Cordelia noticed how tired she always seemed to look, like she hadn't slept for days. She must've gotten out of bed pretty early this morning, judging by the clean laundry left on Delia's bed. The two had gone to bed pretty late last night, well into the morning, so Cordelia assumed she had slept maybe 4 hours before starting her day. It worried her a bit, that 4 hours of sleep was this girl's definition of sleeping well, but girls in the system often slept as little as possible for a multitude of reasons, none of which being any less heartbreaking.

She surveyed the greenhouse, which looked more like a storage facility and less like the little kingdom she had built in here years prior. If the girls were going to use this place as much as they had been, she probably should clean it out. It hadn't been used much since Cordelia became the supreme, none of the other girls really had an interest in it, and since Misty's passing Cordelia had found herself avoiding the place she used to love so much.

She walked over and helped Mallory with the incantation she was trying to learn, the wilted plant blooming underneath her hands. Elliott looked stunned, and Cordelia chuckled as she grabbed another dead plant from the desk for Mallory to try. Mallory struggled with the words for a minute before finally the plant underneath her hands came back to life, a rose blooming at the top. She looked at the supreme and smiled, she had been working on the incantation for months with no luck, and was about to give up.

Cordelia turned and grabbed another plant, this time motioning for Elliott to try. The girl stared at her for a few moments, not believing she could ever be able to do that, before Cordelia spoke to her. "Come on, we have to assess your powers today anyways." She said gently.

The girl hopped off the edge of the table and walked towards the two women as Mallory made room for her in front of the plant. She put her hands over the plant as the other two women had done, and repeated the words. Nothing happened, so she took a step back. "You have to have intention, picture it in your mind. Focus." Cordelia said to her, motioning for her to try again.

She stepped back towards the plant, and tried again, focusing as hard as she could. She felt the plant tickle the bottom of her hand, so she opened her eyes and saw the greenness of the undead plant, smiling to herself before looking at Cordelia and Mallory who were beaming back at her. Cordelia reached for her hand and grabbed it as Mallory moved in to hug her, shaking her back and forth slightly. She didn't tense up this time, much to the women's surprise. After they had released her she stepped back, waiting to see what they wanted to do next.

Cordelia ushered the girl inside to begin her testing, starting out with the normal school subjects: Math, English and Science. She handed her a test and told her to take as much time as she needed and told her to come to her office when she was done.

Elliott stared at the test for a while after the supreme left, nervous. Even though she was told she wasn't expected to pass, she still wanted to do well. It had been years since she was in a classroom, and although she had taught herself what she thought she should know to keep up with other kids, it still terrified her. She slowly opened the test and started reading the questions, going through the problems at a pretty rapid pace. Maybe this wasn't so bad, she thought to herself.

Meanwhile, Cordelia had gone to her office and spotted a stack of papers at the printer. She knew what they were, she had contacted Social Services yesterday and requested the file, Elliott's file. She wanted to know as much about the girl as possible so she didn't have to ask Elliott herself. She pulled the stack of paper from the printer and whole punched it, putting it into a large binder, before sitting down to start pouring through it.

She started at the beginning, with the first notes on her file being "Highly violent", "Pyromaniac", and "Flight risk". The first major note she found on her file was that she set a woman's couch on fire at age 4, supposedly after the woman refused to let the girl go outside. Cordelia knew to take these notes with a grain of salt, she had already read queenies file, much of these stories were the foster parents cover up for something they did wrong. It did peak her curiosity though, most of the girls don't get their abilities until they are teenagers, and Elliott had never said anything about being able to set things on fire, although it wasn't an unusual talent. The following stories up until age 7 were mostly the same, the parents did something Elliott didn't like, so she set something on fire. After age 7 however, there were no more notes about Elliott's "Pyromania", it disappeared. At age 7 she got put into her first group home, where she fought with most of the older children and had an aversion to one of the oldest kids there, a boy named Thomas. The file didn't say why she didn't like this particular boy, although Cordelia could make a wild guess, the very thought of it sending a tear down her face. The file did however detail that whenever Thomas got near her he would walk away with a bloody nose, screaming about how she must have hit him. The more she poured through the file, the more she understood why the girl got her powers so soon; Witches powers grew in times of crisis, when they needed them most, and from what she was reading Elliott's entire life had been a crisis.

It was then she was jolted out of her reading by a knock on the door, Elliott standing there with her test, her previously wet hair now half dried into gentle waves. "I'm done." She said softly.

Cordelia looked at the clock, it had only been 45 minutes. Most girls took about 2 hours to finish the test, so she was surprised. Elliott saw the shocked look on her face, and her own face dropped slightly, worrying that she had messed up. Cordelia saw and quickly recovered, standing up and grabbing the paper from Elliott as she closed the binder. "Alright, I'll grade this later, you ready to test your abilities?" She said, offering the girl a smile. The girl nodded apprehensively and the two women headed back downstairs.

The beginning of testing had gone relatively smoothly. Cordelia wasn't going to test Elliott on the abilities she already knew she had, there really wasn't a way for her to test those safely anyways. She started with telekinesis, asking Elliott to bring a candle on the table to her. She watched the girl focus and the candle lift slightly, hovering over the table before the candle dropped back down, falling over. Elliott blushed, thinking she had failed, but Cordelia reassured her that she was just asking to see if the candle moved, which it did, but that unless it was something she practiced she wouldn't be as good at it. She next tried to see if Elliott could control others. Cordelia grabbed Zoe and Queenie for this, as her mind was a hard one for even a talented witch to get into. Zoe was the easiest, and Elliott had her dancing instantly. Queenies took only a few milliseconds more, and pretty soon she was dancing along with Zoe, something normally even talented witches couldn't do. Controlling one mind was hard, but multiple was practically unheard of. Even Cordelia struggled to do it, although her mother was pretty good at it. Cordelia wanted to see just how advanced the girl was, so she told Elliott to stop. "Now try me." She said. The two other witches looked at her shocked. No other new witch had been asked to try on Cordelia, it was too hard and they knew it. Even Mallory hadn't been able to do it.

Elliott noticed the looks on the women's faces and immediately felt self-conscious. She had given too much away and she knew it. The other witches couldn't do this. She tried to feign stupidity, "I mean I already did them, isn't that what the test was?"

"The test is too see how strong your powers are, so we want to know as much as possible. Just try, if you can't do it then no harm no foul." Cordelia responded, trying to be as gentle as she could.

Elliott got nervous, something she rarely does. She knew she had to try, and she knew Cordelia already had the sneaking suspicion she could do it. Her breath became shaky as she tried to focus. Her powers always acted up when she was nervous, and she had a hard time controlling them, even if she was meaning to use them. She tried to calm herself and focused, easily entering Cordelia's head. Cordelia felt it but kept her face blank, wanting to see just how much the girl could really do. She felt her fingers move on their own accord, and Elliot pulled back, thinking she had done enough. "More." Cordelia said to her, wanting to see just how much she could get inside her head.

Elliott shook her head, "I can't." she said, hoping the supreme would move onto the next task. The supreme nodded her head and Elliott relaxed, thankful they wouldn't press her further.

Next, Cordelia decided to test her pyrokenisis. She had a hunch the girl could do it based on her file, but she wanted to see it to make sure, sometimes when girls were manifesting their powers, they got some that disappeared, being replaced with more advanced versions. Cordelia assumed her ability to fry someone's brain stemmed from pyrokenisis, but brain frying was more useful to Elliott. She held a candle in front of her and told Elliott to light the candle. Elliott's face drained and she closed off, offering the supreme a hard "No."

Cordelia didn't want to let the girl know she had been reading her file, so she tried to convince the girl that even if she couldn't do it that it was ok and to just try. Elliott wouldn't budge, getting more and more agitated the more the supreme pushed her. "I said no, I can't." she responded, the venom in her voice evident enough to make Cordelia cringe. She didn't blame Elliott for getting angry, every time she had used it before she had gotten sent away, so there was probably some trauma behind it. She tried to reason with Elliott again, only for this to push Elliott over the edge. "I said just DROP IT." She yelled, the candles wick bursting into flames at the same time it fell from Cordelia's grasp. It had all happened so fast, Cordelia didn't even realize Elliott had pushed inside her head and quite literally made her drop it. As she stomped out the flaming candle Elliott walked past her and a few moments later she heard the door to Elliott's room slam. Cordelia wasn't mad at her; she was the one who pushed her to do it. She decided that they would continue the testing later and right now she would let Elliott cool down, heading back to her office to grade the test.

Elliott heard Cordelia's office door close as she sat on the floor fuming. She was mad, furious, that Cordelia pushed her after she said no. She didn't want to do it and Cordelia pushed her to the point she lost control, giving the supreme exactly what she wanted. She felt played, and also scared. She felt stupid for feeling scared, but every time she had set something on fire she had always gotten beat or locked away in some closet or room, if she was lucky she just got taken away to a new home. What was she scared about? That they would make her leave? She laughed to herself, cursing under her breath. She had been here two days, how the fuck did she manage to get attached so easily? She was a pro at keeping her distance, not settling anywhere, so that when she had to leave it wasn't hard, it was just a place, and places come and go. For whatever reason, she knew that if she left this place right now that she would be devastated, and she hated herself for it. She had gotten too comfortable, so now she had to pay the price. She sat and fumed until she couldn't stand to be in the house anymore, so she grabbed her backpack, still filled with all of her belongings, and she quietly walked down the stairs and walked right out the front door.


	10. Chapter 10

Cordelia had been so enthralled in grading the test that she hadn't even noticed the girl left. Once she finished grading the test she counted up the points for each section and sat there stunned. She had made this test specifically so the girls wouldn't get perfect scores, even going as far as to put college level calculus on it. Elliott had aced it. A 98%. The girl hadn't been in a real school in years but apparently had taught herself calculus. She was brilliant, and here Cordelia was expecting to have to teach her everything. Cordelia had felt guilty for assuming the girl was that far behind, but there was a good reason for it. She got up and headed to Elliott's room for the two of them to talk, hoping she had given the girl enough time to calm down, but when she knocked on the door no one answered. She opened it and the room was empty, so she headed to the library to see if she was there, nothing. She called out for the girl but got no response. She checked the greenhouse, the panic settling in when she realized the girl was gone. She ran back to the house and checked Elliott's room again, this time searching for her backpack, which she soon realized was gone too.

She didn't know how long she had been gone, she never heard her leave. She had been grading the test for a little over an hour, in that time Elliott could have easily made her way to a bus station and gotten the hell out of there. Cordelia had no way of getting in contact with the girl, no phone number or anything. Cordelia cursed herself for not getting the girl a phone or even asking if she had one. She quickly grabbed her keys and headed to the car, knowing trying to get a vision of the girl was of no use.

She drove along the streets for a bit looking for her, hoping she didn't go too far. If she had gone to a bus station there was no way Cordelia would find her, she was already too far gone. The idea made Cordelia's stomach knot. She drove to the other side of town with a new focus. If she could find David, chances are he could help her find Elliott, or maybe she was with him. That is, if he was willing to help her. She headed to the corner store, hoping someone there would know how to contact him.

Meanwhile, Elliott sat on the floor of David's small apartment, arguing with the boy. "I'm not going back. I was just fine before and I'll be fine now. I don't need them." She argued.

"But you do need them Elliott. As annoying as they may be they're just trying to help you. You have to be able to control this thing, its obviously not going away." He responded. Elliott knew he was right, but she was mad, and she didn't want him to be trying to convince her.

"I can learn how to control them on my own. I've done it before. I don't need them for that. They want me to use it, they think it's some sort of gift. It's not, and I want no part of it. How the hell am I supposed to stay at that school? It's not free and I don't want to feel like I owe them something. I don't. They have no leverage on me." She responded emphatically.

"Ever consider they're just being nice?" David asked, earning him a doubtful glare from Elliott, "Maybe they don't actually want anything from you except for you to learn how to use your powers? Is that really so bad?"

"You don't know them. Somethings up I can tell. They're too nice. No one is that nice unless they're hiding something or they want something. Cordelia is trying way too hard to get to know me." She said matter of factly, earning a laugh from David.

"Did you ever think maybe she DOES want to get to know you? She supposedly in charge, wouldn't she want to get to know things about her girls? Like what makes them angry so she can help them control whatever they have?" He responded, amused at how worked up Elliott was getting. He knew he was right, and Elliott did too. Sometimes he would just laugh at the lengths Elliott would go to keep people out, but then again she was only hurting herself.

Elliott sat silent, defeated. She knew he was right, that she wasn't making sense. But something seemed off to her. She didn't like all the hushed conversations the witches were having, the way they looked at her, like there was something she wasn't being told. It was like she had a giant explosive sign taped to her back. She felt the same way whenever she met with her social worker or a new family, a giant "handle with caution" stamped on her forehead.

"Just give them a chance Elliott. Give it six months, if you really hate it that much then leave and I won't be mad. But this is good for you ok?" David said softly. He knew how she felt, like everyone was out to get you. But the issue with that is you also miss out on some really good things if you live your whole life that way. Just then his phone rang, the store was calling him. "I have to take this." He said, pulling himself to his feet and walking out of the room.

He answered the call once he was out of earshot, "Hello?"

"Hey David, there's a lady at the store asking if you know anything about a missing girl?"

"Give her my number, tell her I'm handling it and to go home."

"Ok, see you tomorrow."

"Bye."

Back at the store, the man on the other line wrote down a number on a piece of paper and handed it to her. "That's his number, he says he's got it and to go home."

Cordelia looked at the piece of paper and thanked the man. She still was panicked, but the knot in her stomach uncoiled slightly. She headed back to her car, sliding in before punching the numbers into her phone, saving the contact. Every bone in her body told him to call her, to make sure she was ok and coming back, but she didn't want to risk making him annoyed or upset. He was in her corner and she wanted it to stay that way. She headed back to the house and locked herself in her study. She paced for a while, mad at herself for letting Elliott slip away so easily. Mad that she pushed her when she knew she shouldn't have. She beat herself up, blaming herself for Elliott's disappearing act, knowing it could've been much worse and they could've lost the girl altogether. She lashed out, the books on the wall flying to the floor. She cursed under her breath, realizing that she had just made a mess that she would have to clean up. Maybe Elliott's not the only one who has to work on controlling her powers, she thought to herself.

She decided that pacing was accomplishing nothing, Elliott still wasn't back and she probably wasn't coming back anytime soon, so she tried to trust David and take her mind off of it by finishing Elliott's file. The more into the file she read, the sicker she felt. There were countless photos of bruises and bone breaks from abusive homes, the few that they actually figured out. She read about how Elliott's foster father had chased her around the house until she ran out and climbed a tree, refusing to come down. The police managed to get her down and return her to the family, only for her teachers to discover that she had two broken arms the next day. She quickly realized this was eerily similar to the story Elliott had told Mallory when she first arrived, her stomach turning at the thought. There were x-rays of her broken bones, and the file noted that the doctors noticed a dozen old breaks that hadn't healed properly.

From ages 8-10 she had run away a total of 22 times. Each time she came back, and told the social worker of abuse, but the social worker couldn't prove anything so she was just left there until she finally ran away and wasn't found. The last few pages were photos of the girl over the years, a new one for each year she was in the foster system. Cordelia couldn't help but notice how each year the girl looked more and more broken, the final photo her looking far too underweight with eyes that looked like they had seen a ghost. There was one final page at the back, but at that point Cordelia had to throw up, so she closed the binder and headed towards the bathroom, puking up what little she had eaten that day. Her files were horrible, each case found a way to blame her for things out of her control. Cordelia wanted to kill every single person who had ever hurt her, social workers included. She was mad, furious that Elliott's life had been handed around so carelessly, like she didn't matter. A lot of it she blamed on herself, if she just kept the girl none of this would have happened, but then again who knows how that scenario would have turned out.

She sat back in her chair at her desk and reopened the file, wanting to finish the nightmare that it was, and flipped to the last page. Her stomach dropped as she saw what it was. She carefully studied the birth certificate and saw her name on the bottom as well as Hanks, their signatures scrawled out carefully at the bottom. She flipped the page over and saw a photo had been stuck to the back of the original. Tears fell from her eyes as she studied the photograph, one she didn't know was taken. It was of her and hank, holding Elliott right after she was born. Her adoptive parents must have taken it when they weren't paying attention. She ran her fingers along the photocopy, remembering the few moments she had with her daughter before they left, and she started to sob, shutting the file and shoving it off of her desk, moving to cradle her head in her hands. This never would have happened if Fiona hadn't convinced her to give the child up. None of this. She blamed her mother and herself for letting the old supreme get inside her head. Cordelia ruined this child, she was responsible. She signed the papers and gave her up, knowing it wasn't what she wanted. She did this.

She stayed in her study sobbing until far after 10pm, when she heard the front door open. She walked out in the hallway and saw Elliott standing at the bottom of the steps staring back at her. Cordelia looked like shit and she knew it, her makeup washed away by her tears, her eyes a florescent shade of red.

Elliott immediately looked guilty, she knew Cordelia had been crying because of her. David told her she went to the store, that she was looking for her, and it made her feel terrible. She was still angry at what had happened earlier, but she knew she really didn't have a reason to be.

After Cordelia had registered that it was Elliott, she walked down the stairs and stood in front of Elliott, staring at her for a few moments before pulling her into a tight hug. "I'm glad you came back." She whispered softly, one hand holding the back of the young girl's head. Elliott simply nodded back at the woman, and once they broke apart Cordelia ushered the girl into the kitchen. "Have you eaten?"

"Don't worry about making me food I'm fine." Elliott said rushed. She had already caused enough issues for the woman, she didn't want her to be worried about her. Cordelia shot the girl a look before the girl shook her head no. Cordelia hated that the girl felt like she was being a bother for being hungry, she knew from the file that some of her foster parents refused to feed her, and it just made her even more angry. Cordelia was normally in control of her emotions but today was a different story, and as she turned away from the girl a stack of papers flew off the counter, scattering on the ground. She put her head in her hands on the counter when the girl behind her whispered "I'm sorry."

"Would you stop saying sorry? You have nothing to be sorry about!" She said, her voice more frustrated than it probably should have been. The girl tensed up behind her and Cordelia knew she had to offer the girl some sort of explanation. "I read your file." She said truthfully.

She looked at Elliott and the young witch slowly nodded. "I figured you would eventually." She said softly, her face and body emotionless. Elliott thought she was mad about the file because of her, because of what she had done.

Cordelia's look softened as she walked toward the girl. "I'm not mad at you because of what's in your file, I know that's not the whole truth, that there was a lot they were hiding. I'm frustrated because of how they treated you. That's why I'm mad. I want to kill every single person who ever mistreated you, I'm furious." She said truthfully, tearing up a bit.

Elliott instantly felt the need to protect her, to make her feel better, so she offered "It's ok, im ok, don't worry about it."

"It's NOT ok. None of that was ok. You're afraid to tell me you're HUNGRY Elliott. You always have your guard up, you have panic attacks when something breaks and it makes a loud noise. That is not ok, you don't deserve that." Cordelia said loudly, the tone of it making Elliott slightly shrink back. The supreme took a deep breath and calmed herself. "I'm sorry I tried to make you light the candle earlier. I shouldn't have pushed you when you didn't want to. I had good intentions, but that doesn't matter."

Elliott looked at the woman broken in front of her, trying to understand why she cared so much. She literally couldn't wrap her mind around it. She just met her, why does she care how her foster parents treated her? But, since the supreme had just apologized, Elliott offered one of her own. "I'm sorry I left. I should've told you I was going out. I was just so frustrated and I needed to go somewhere else." She did mean it, she was sorry she got the supreme so upset, truthfully she didn't think she would care, or if she did she would just be mad, nothing like this.

The older witch looked up at her and nodded, accepting the apology. "I need to get you a phone, in case something like this happens again. I understand you wanting to leave, but I have to have a way to make sure you're safe." She said, the tone in her voice letting the younger girl know this wasn't something to be argued.

The girl felt guilty that the supreme wanted to get her a phone, she didn't have to pay for her, so she offered "I can buy a phone."

The older woman shook her head at her, "No, I've got it. We can go tomorrow; we need to get you some other things too." It hadn't gone unnoticed that the girl only had a few articles of clothing, and that she was squinting to read the words off of her book. She probably needed glasses, not that any of her foster parents would have noticed.

Elliott wanted to object, she didn't need anything else. But by the look on the Supreme's face she knew now wasn't the time to push it. The older woman searched inside the fridge for a moment before closing it and looking at the girl. "Come on, we're going out for food."

Cordelia went in search for her keys before ushering her and Elliott out the front door and into her car. Elliott didn't ask where they were going, and the drive over was mostly silent except for the radio. After a few minutes of driving Cordelia pulled into the parking lot of a burger place, the two of them hopping out of the car and heading inside.

They slid into a booth and Cordelia told the girl to get whatever she wanted, shakes included. The girl nodded then looked down, pretending to study the menu. She had been to this place before, although it was a long time ago. Cordelia ordered a burger with Swiss cheese, mushrooms, and grilled onions and a strawberry shake, Elliot ordered a burger with practically everything on it and an oreo shake. While the two waited for their food, Cordelia cleared her throat and asked "So, is there anything outside of what we've tested today that you can do? Besides the obvious." She didn't want to make the girl perform any other things she wasn't comfortable with, and she was hoping the girl wouldn't hide anything from her.

Elliott looked uncomfortable, and she wanted to say that Cordelia had seen everything she had to offer, but she promised David she would give this a fair shot, and that meant being honest. "Um, kind of. I can alter peoples dreams I guess? I don't know how to explain it."

Cordelia looked at the girl confused, she had never heard of anything like it. Elliott continued, "Like when I was in foster care and the younger kids would have nightmares, I was able to change what they were dreaming about, make them think about the good memories instead of the bad ones. I did it with you last night." Cordelia looked shocked, and Elliott worried she had said too much, she didn't mean to admit that she had done it to Cordelia.

"You did it to me?" Cordelia asked, looking for more of an explanation.

"Uh yea, you were having a nightmare last night about some guy so I… changed it I guess? Instead of you thinking about the bad stuff I pulled up happy memories about them." Elliott said, very unsure of herself. She didn't want to say she had saw Cordelia's dream about her ex-husband dying, or that she pulled memories of her having a baby, it just seemed a little too invasive for her, not that going inside her head wasn't already.

Cordelia remembered she dreamt about her husband the night before, she did almost every night. She wasn't upset about what the girl did, she knew it was coming from a good place, but she did feel uneasy. If Elliott could alter peoples dreams, chances were she could comb through memories and see them, and considering all the women in the house were hiding something from her, it wasn't a good thing. She worded her response carefully. "Ok, so can you alter dreams with memories, can you pull memories themselves?"

Elliott shook her head, unsure. "I've never tried." She said.

"Well how about you try now? Try it on me. Show me something." Cordelia said. She was terrified, but she needed to see what the girl could do. Elliott looked apprehensive but tried, easily entering the woman's head and grabbing a seemingly happy memory of the woman with a redhead. Delia saw the memory play in front of her, like she was watching it on a movie screen. It was her and Myrtle having tea before she was burned at the stake, the first time that is. Cordelia was stunned, she hadn't thought about Myrtle in a while, she had almost forgotten the moment had occurred. Once it was finished, she smiled softly at Elliott, who offered an unsure smile back.

"Good! That's something we've never seen before." Cordelia said softly. It wasn't a typical ability, it most likely came from her mind control abilities and it tailored itself to help the girl when she was in the foster system. "Just be careful with that one, some people might not like you poking through their minds." Cordelia joked, lightning the mood and making the girl giggle.

The two ate all of their food and talked, Elliott appeared to let her guard down a little bit more, offering some of the few good stories she had from her time in foster care. She even finally told Cordelia about how she met David. "We were placed in the same home with a not so great family when I was 8. He was older than me so I relied on him a lot to protect me. When we were separated he came and found me and made sure I was ok, and when he was out of the system he made sure I was safe and gave me money when I needed it. When I ran away I didn't see him for a while because I was moving around so much trying to not get caught. When he finally found me I stayed with him most of the time when I needed a place to crash. Eventually I just stayed with him at his apartment." Elliott recalled.

"Is he ok? I mean, is he doing ok? I worked at a corner store growing up, they don't make a whole lot, definitely not enough to pay for an apartment." Cordelia asked concerned.

"He's fine, he's working two jobs while he's going to school. It's hard but he's making it work. Lucky for him he got a full scholarship to school because he was in foster care, so that's taken care of." Elliott said truthfully.

Cordelia found herself still worried about the boy, going to school was hard enough, but working around the clock had to make it near impossible. "Why don't you have him come for dinner sometime this week? I would love to actually meet him and I'm sure the girls would love him. Madison would probably flirt with him all night, but I'm sure he could handle that." She offered. If he was really as important in her life as Elliott said, she wanted her to know he was welcome at the house.

"Yea, that would be cool, I can check with him and figure out a day. Thanks!" Elliott said, her face lighting up. The older woman paid and the two walked out of the restaurant, hopping back in the car. When the two pulled into the driveway at the house Cordelia turned to the younger girl, "You know you're sleeping in my room, right?"

Elliott was about to object, but considering the complete wreck Elliott had come home to find, she wasn't about to argue. She stopped herself for a moment, realizing she had just thought of this place as home. She had never actually thought of a place as home before. She tried not to focus too much on it as she nodded her head and went in the house, stopping by her room to drop off her stuff. When she entered the Supremes' bedroom, Cordelia handed her the same pair of pajamas she had the night before, nodding for her to change in the bathroom. She quickly did, pulling her wavy hair into two braids, and walked back out as Cordelia was walking back into the room. "You ready for bed?" Cordelia asked, Elliott nodding in return. The two of them hopped into bed, Cordelia choosing to read whereas Elliott went straight to bed, falling asleep in a matter of minutes. Cordelia put down her book and looked at the sleeping child for a few minutes, stroking her hair as she herself fell asleep.


	11. Chapter 11

The next few weeks ran rather smoothly, or as smooth as they could with Elliott around. The young witch went and got some new clothes, a phone, and glasses, although getting her to pick her own stuff out was like pulling teeth. Cordelia paying for the stuff was even worse, every store they went to Elliott tried to sneak the cashier money when Cordelia wasn't looking. She had seemed to settle into the coven nicely, and seemed to be more outgoing and relaxed. She giggled with the girls at dinner and was always hanging out with Mallory in the greenhouse, practicing some new spell. Getting her to eat was still a struggle, if Cordelia wasn't watching her the girl would go all day without eating, sometimes two, but Cordelia was proud of the progress she had made.

While Elliott did feel more at home here, she was still a bit uneasy. This was foreign territory for her, and although she was giving it her all, she was waiting for it to fall apart. Things that were good in her life never stayed for long, and it was almost like she was waiting for the other shoe to drop, and drop it did.

About a month after Elliott had first come to stay with the witches, she received another text on her burner phone. "You need to make a run. Tonight." Elliott had almost forgotten her "Friend". He always had a way of showing up when she didn't want him to and wrecking everything she had worked so hard to build; it had been that way since they were kids. She responded with a short "K." and started to figure out how she was going to pull this off. She had to be on her best behavior all day, she couldn't risk Cordelia asking her to stay in the supreme's room, which had become a regular occurrence. While Cordelia had been more lax with her as of late, the young witch knew she was still watching her like a hawk. This had to go perfectly if Elliott was to sneak out without anyone knowing. A million scenarios ran through her head of all the things that might go wrong, and for each one she formulated a different plan to get her out of that house. If all else failed, she could throw a fit and storm off, but she had to leave her regular phone at home if she didn't want to be found.

Elliott's second phone buzzed and she had a time and place, he would give her the drop off location later. She always hated when he did that because it meant she would have to meet with him, there wouldn't just be a bag hidden for her. He knew she hated him, and he relished it. Every new place she moved he would follow her, always demanding more until she got caught or sent away, and she knew this was no different. Honestly, she didn't know why she hadn't just killed him yet. Maybe it was because she still had some semblance of a moral compass, or maybe she was just weak. It was probably the latter.

After slipping her phone into that secret pocket in her bag, Elliott made her way to the library. She needed to avoid the other witches as much as possible and limit her contact. She knew if she hung around Mallory or Cordelia they would suggest they go out and do something or possibly notice her uneasiness and prod her until she exploded. She opened a book and sat there for hours, staring at the same page. She couldn't focus, her mind all over the place. She heard the other girls walk by but didn't bother to look up, pretending she was deep in thought.

The more she sat there the more worried she was that she would get caught. Cordelia was the supreme after all, and she somehow always seemed to notice when something wasn't right. Elliott was terrified. The stakes were higher than they'd ever been, and although Elliott didn't want to admit it she would be crushed if the witches sent her away. It was easier when she lived with foster parents who didn't give a shit about what she was doing or who she was with, most of them never even bothered to learn her name. The group homes were harder to escape from, they were armed with security that would let them know if a door was even slightly ajar, but she still somehow made it work. If she could get out of there, why the hell was she so worried about the witches?

Elliott was jarred from her thoughts when Cordelia tapped on the doorframe, looking up as Cordelia smiled at her. She gave a small smile back, and although she tried to make it look genuine she felt like the fear was plastered all over her face. "Dinner's ready." Cordelia said softly.

The two of them headed downstairs and sat at the table. Cordelia noticed that Elliott had once again sat on the other side of the table from her, Mallory in between them. The girl was acting strangely, but she was doing a damn good job at covering it up. While Elliott seemed happy, talking with the other girls and laughing, Cordelia knew that she always gave herself away with her body language. She could talk the talk, but couldn't walk the walk. She sat on the edge of her seat, her back perfectly straight. Normally she leaned back in her chair and slouched a bit. She was acting almost too perfect, but Delia didn't know why. The supreme watched as she all but tried to hide from her, turning her body so the supreme couldn't totally see her face, and when she looked at the supreme, most of her face was shielded by Mallory's body.

Elliott felt Cordelia's eyes on her the whole time, and the more she felt it the more she tried to make it seem like everything was fine. Finally, she shifted her body towards the supreme and looked her dead in the eyes, giving her a smile. Elliott knew that Cordelia saw something was up, and she could almost see the gears turning in the supreme's head, trying to find the last piece of the puzzle. So obviously acting normal was out, and with that went plan A. Now it was either she tell some lie to get out of the house or storm out, both of which didn't seem like good options. She could say she was staying at David's, but he was working and David didn't know she was still running. Plus, Cordelia was bound to check up on her now. So it looked like she only had one option, she just had to figure out how to make it work.

After the girls had cleared the dinner table Elliott returned to the library and opened her book, staring blankly at the same page. She was so lost in her own head she didn't notice that Cordelia had been standing in the doorway for the past 15 minutes, staring at the girl. Cordelia knocked softly on the doorframe as she had done earlier and the girl looked at her like a deer in headlights. "I was wondering if you maybe wanted to watch a movie tonight? You've had your head stuck in that book all day, you need to relax." The supreme said softly.

"Um, raincheck? I'm really into this book right now and I kind of want to finish it." Elliot responded, trying not to come off too harsh. Cordelia saw right through it, she knew Elliott wasn't reading, she had been on the same page for at least the last 15 minutes. Honestly Cordelia didn't think she had read a single page all day; Elliott normally cruised through books, even the ones that were difficult to get through. Instead of calling her out, the supreme just nodded and left her, knowing sooner or later whatever was bothering her would come out. Delia didn't want to trigger a fight with the girl, knowing her history of leaving, but she also didn't want to leave the girl alone; Elliott had enough emotional trauma buried already.

Elliott found Cordelia's lack of confrontation odd, almost unsettling. When something was even slightly off with Elliott the supreme was on her heels, pushing all of her buttons until she either told her the truth or snapped back. Elliott knew she was being blatantly obvious that something was wrong, so why was Cordelia so reserved? The fact that Cordelia wasn't playing into her little game made her furious, she had a plan. Cordelia was supposed to push her and she was supposed to lose her shit and storm out. That's how this worked, it's always how it worked. So what game was Cordelia playing?

Elliott sat fuming in the library for a few more minutes before she reformulated her plan, if Cordelia wasn't going to make her explode, then Elliott was just going to have to do it to Cordelia. It was simple enough, Elliott just had to get inside her mind, mess with her a little bit. Elliott could blame it on not having control of her powers, which both of the women knew she did. It would make Cordelia furious, and Elliott could use it as an excuse to leave. Was it manipulative? Sure. But Elliott was starting to feel like a caged animal again and if she couldn't pull this off she knew there would be much larger consequences.

She went to her room and put the burner phone in her pocket, making sure her long tank top concealed it, and then headed to Cordelia's study. The door was open so she stood in the doorframe, knocking just like the supreme had a half hour prior. Cordelia looked up at her and smiled and suddenly Elliott felt nervous again. "Um, actually…. Can I take you up on that movie?" She said softly, her voice wavering towards the end. Cordelia's smile got impossibly wider and she nodded enthusiastically, closing whatever she was working on and standing up. She ushered the young girl out the door and downstairs, and when the two were in the living room Cordelia began listing off an array of titles. Elliott chose one of them randomly, she knew she wouldn't be paying much attention anyways.

The two of them settled in and the movie started playing. Cordelia took note that the girl still seemed off, but she was glad she decided to watch the movie with her, it showed some progress. Elliott tried to calm herself and focused on getting in Cordelia's head. She didn't want to go for the money shot right away, that would give the whole plan away, so she started slowly, casually picking a memory of when Cordelia and Elliott first met.

Cordelia saw the memory flash before her eyes and noticed Elliott shift uncomfortably. She ignored it, knowing that the girl's abilities tended to misfire when they were nervous or upset, telling Elliott to knock it off would probably just make her more nervous and Cordelia wanted Elliott inside her head as little as possible. But the more the young girl shifted around the more memories she dragged up, each one getting darker and darker. Cordelia chose to nudge the girl playfully, "Get out of there!"

The girl didn't laugh or even crack a smile, she just looked at Cordelia. The supreme noticed that she looked scared, even more so than Cordelia had ever seen her, excluding her panic attack. She switched gears and tried to comfort the girl, but Elliott pulled away from her, more dark visions playing in front of the supreme's eyes. "Elliott seriously, stop." Cordelia said more forcefully, the playfulness gone from her tone. Elliott's eyes stayed staring straight ahead, completely focused on what was going on inside the supreme's head. The visions got more painful: Her realizing hank had cheated on her, him with the redhead, the girls calling her a failure. In between memories Cordelia tried to pull Elliott from her trance, if she lost focus Cordelia could kick her out of her head, or at least she hoped. It had become apparent that Elliott wasn't doing this by accident, she was looking for something. The more Cordelia tried to get Elliott out of her head the worse the memories got, until they were relentless, one after the other. Finally, Elliott settled on the memory of Fiona slapping her in the kitchen, and she seemed to fixate on it, replaying it over and over and over again until Cordelia was in tears, begging her to stop. She pulled back then, the vision clearing from Cordelia's eyes. Cordelia got her bearings and realized she had somehow fallen on the floor, sitting crouched on her knees. Elliott was standing in front of her, and Cordelia looked up at her with teary eyes. Elliott's face was completely pale, her eyes impossibly wide. She looked like she had seen a ghost. "Who was that?" She said, her voice high pitched and shaking.

"My mother." Cordelia said softly, her voice thick in her throat. She looked down at the ground for a moment, and when she looked back up Elliott was gone, the front door slamming behind her.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tw: Rape

Elliott had no idea where she was. She didn't even realize she was running out of the house until she was over two blocks away, in the complete opposite direction of where she needed to be. She didn't know exactly what she was expecting to see in Cordelia's head, but it definitely wasn't that. No way could that be Cordelia's mother and no way would the woman she recognized ever act like that. It was some kind of trick, or maybe a mistake. Elliott didn't know what to expect in Cordelia's head, but she definitely didn't expect to see the closest thing she ever had to a mother slap the new supreme.

Luckily for her, she neared a bus stop that would put her in the right direction, stepping onto the correctly numbered bus and heading back past the coven. Now she didn't have to worry about someone seeing her as she walked back, but she did have to figure out what the fuck was going on. She started connecting the dots, she knew Cordelia's mother's name was Fiona, the woman she knew was also Fiona. Maybe she altered Cordelia's memory, placing the face of the woman she knew on a memory she didn't belong to, but based on Cordelia's reaction that memory was very real.

So, they had to be the same person. But the woman in Cordelia's head was cruel, nothing like the sweet woman Elliott knew. Elliott never really knew why the woman visited her or was so nice, when she tried to ask all she got was "I'm a friend of your family." Elliott had always assumed she was a friend of her adoptive parents, but knowing that Cordelia's mother was the previous supreme, it was a definite possibility she didn't know her family at all. Maybe she was watching her. Maybe she knew she had magic running in her veins, but that still didn't make sense. If she knew, why wouldn't she have taken her to the coven sooner? Why did she stop visiting her when she was 9?

The bus stopped right where Elliott needed to be and she got off, making her way towards the location specified. She was a little bit early but she didn't care, it gave her more time to process everything. If she even could process. Right now she had no idea what was going on.

Back at the coven, Cordelia had regained her composure and now was pacing in the living room. It was obvious Elliott had done that on purpose, but Cordelia couldn't understand why. Why did she fixate on that one memory? Elliott knew Fiona was awful, so why was she so scared? Was she afraid that Delia would get mad at her? That she would hit her? The thought that Elliott was scared of her made her sick to her stomach. It didn't matter how mad she got, never in a million years would she hurt her.

Cordelia quickly went in search of her phone, frantically throwing blankets and pillows out of the way to find it. She couldn't find it downstairs so she ran to the study, carelessly throwing everything off her desk in search of it. The noise was enough to alert the other women in the house, who came to check on all the noise. Mallory was the first to appear in the doorway. "What's going on?" She said, taking in the Supremes frantic state.

"Elliott ran off. I need my phone GOD DAMNIT WHERES MY PHONE?" Cordelia responded harshly. Mallory noticed the reflective glass on the floor underneath a binder and quickly handed it to the supreme. Cordelia quickly checked for Elliott's GPS and threw the phone when she realized the girl had left hers in the house. "FUCK" She screamed, throwing herself into the chair and putting her head in her hands.

"Don't worry, we'll find her. We'll split up and search." Mallory said, the girls who had congregated behind her quickly heading out of the house. Mallory walked toward the supreme and placed a hand on her shoulder, "We'll find her." She reaffirmed, the supreme nodding, her head still in her hands.

Mallory left to search and once Cordelia had calmed herself slightly, she sent a text to David, hoping he would have some idea of where she was. He responded back that he hadn't seen her, but he would let her know if she came to the store. Cordelia then walked into Elliott's room and grabbed her still full backpack, willing herself to get a vision, something that would give her a clue as to where the girl might've gone. Once again she got small fragments of a vision: a bus, an unidentifiable alley, Elliott's file, but nothing that the supreme could piece together. She threw the bag down frustrated and walked back to her study, grabbing her car keys and walking out of the house.

While the girls were searching for her, Elliott was waiting in the alley for her "friend". He was late, as usual, and Elliott found herself growing even more nervous. She started pacing when she heard a chuckle behind her. She whipped around to face the noise. "Thomas." She said, her voice emotionless.

"Ellie, Ellie, how's my favorite girl?" he replied, his face becoming visible in the shadows. He stalked towards her slowly, which just made the knot in Elliott's stomach tighten. He smiled at her and she glared at him in return. "Now that's no way to greet your brother now is it?" He grinned again, oh how much Elliott hated that grin.

"You aren't my brother, now let's get this over with. Where am I going?" she said, her voice barely hiding her distain. Thomas had always been charismatic. Everyone always loved him, even before the group home. No one ever believed her when she said he hurt her, everyone always said he was too nice to be a bad person, but Elliott knew better. As much as Elliott wanted nothing to do with him, she always felt like she owed him. After all, she was the reason he got put into foster care in the first place, after social services realized his parents were beating the both of them. It wasn't until a few years later when they both landed in the same group home that the trouble started, and now she was in too deep to get out.

"You aren't going anywhere." He said, his smile dropping to an emotionless stare that made Elliott's blood run cold. She saw two other men come into view behind him, trapping her in the dead end alley. This wasn't a run, this was punishment.

Thomas lunged at her and got her by the throat, shoving her back into the brick wall behind her, pinning her down. With his other hand he hit her in the face, causing her left eye to get blurry and pulse, already beginning to swell. Just take it, she thought to herself, you've had worse. He threw another punch into her ribs and she felt them crack underneath the pressure, her body screaming. She involuntarily moved an arm out to protect herself, only for it to be shoved back into the wall, her hand making a sickening crunching sound. The hits kept coming until she was dizzy, and then he moved for the button on her pants. He got then button undone and the zipper pulled down before Elliott had even realized what was happening. When her thoughts became clear again she knew she had to do something. This wasn't the normal punishment, this was something else entirely, and if she didn't do something he was going to kill her.

As he was moving to unbutton his own pants she closed her eyes and tried her hardest to focus, being pulled out of her train of thought by a sickening ripping sound. She braced for pain but stopped when she realized it wasn't coming from her, the hold on her throat releasing and she crashed to the ground into a pool of something wet. She looked up and saw Thomas thrashing, holding his shoulder. She saw the blood pouring out of him before she realized the arm lying on the ground next to her, the same one that had been holding her throat. He was screaming and the other two men rushed towards Elliott, she backed into the corner as one of the men grabbed at her, shutting her eyes and hearing another scream as the man fell on the ground, more blood seeping into the ground. She didn't even bother to open her eyes again, she just listened to the screams of the three men and the ripping sounds until all she heard was silence.

She opened her eyes and screamed. Body parts were strewn all over the alley, the cement completely covered in blood. Her brain didn't even process it before she was on her feet and running, not even sure of where she was going. All she could feel was the blood on her: in her hair, on her pants, splattered all over her face. She wasn't even sure how much of it was hers, she just kept running. She ran into the street, not even paying attention to the car that skidded to a stop, only a few inches from hitting her. She was a few streets over before she realized the car was following her, and she quickly made her way into the closest alley, hiding behind a dumpster. She saw the headlights pass and she finally took a second to take in her injuries. Her ribs were screaming with each breath she took in, her hand throbbing and her eye swelled shut. She heard footsteps enter the alley and panic filled her, her breathing becoming ragged and uneven, despite the protests from her ribs. She heard a familiar voice call her name but she couldn't respond, instead breaking into a sob. She looked in front of her and saw Mallory, her phone to her ear. "Yea I got her, you need to get here right away, we're in the alley by Angelo's." She hung up and kneeled in front of the girl, trying to get her to tell her what happened, but only getting sobs in return.

Mallory tried to get the girl to calm down but couldn't, the girl was too far gone to even hear her. A few minutes later another set of headlights passed by the alley and Cordelia came running into the alley, stopping in front of the girl when she saw her. She was drenched in blood, her face swollen beyond recognition, her hand resembling a lobster claw. Cordelia attempted to grab the girl and pull her into her lap, but quickly let go when a blood curdling scream erupted from Elliott. Delia instead kneeled in front of the girl where Mallory once was, gently grabbing the girls face and forcing her to make eye contact with the supreme. The girl's breath got impossibly faster and Cordelia knew there was no calming her down, she was too far gone. Her phone rang and Mallory answered it. "Yes we got her, yes she's alive. Why?" Cordelia glanced at the other girl and watched the color drain from her face. "Ok, stay there, we'll be there as soon as we can. Don't let anyone see it."

Mallory hung up the phone and watched as the girl hyperventilated in front of them until she passed out, falling limp to the concrete, Cordelia catching her head before it hit the ground. She looked at Mallory before the two managed to lift the girl and carry her to Mallory's SUV, sliding her into the backseat. "Take her back to the house, I'll go to Queenie and Madison." Cordelia said forcefully, letting Mallory know there was no room for disagreement. Cordelia ran to her own car with her phone to her ear, getting the address from Queenie.

The supreme made her way across town in record time, her car almost skidding to a stop. She stepped out onto the curb and immediately smelled blood in the air, and watched a small stream of it trickle from the nearby alley into the street. She walked quickly towards the alley and was met with Madison, who for the first time in her life looked terrified. The younger girl immediately grabbed the supreme's hand and led her back into the dark secluded space. Cordelia first noticed three bodies, and as her eyes adjusted to the dim light she fully saw the horror show in front of her, arms and legs and heads strewn every which way. She held in a scream as her stomach lurched, and she tried to hold in the vomit creeping up her throat. She wasn't prepared for this, any of this. She recognized the alley from her vision, and with the amount of blood on Elliott she was sure she was here at some point, but Delia didn't want to think for a second that Elliott was capable of this. She immediately focused on how to cover it up. She told the girls to head back to the house and help Mallory get Elliott out of the car, and once the headlights disappeared she looked back at the body parts and set the whole scene on fire, and once she was back in her car and driving away, she felt an explosion in the alley behind her. As she drove home she saw police flying past her, sirens blaring. If nothing else, Elliott's DNA would be burned away long before they got there.

She pulled into the driveway and saw the girls crowded around Mallory's car. She hopped out and noticed they were trying to talk to Elliott, she must've woken up on the ride back. The supreme quickly made her way to the open rear door as the girls stepped back. Elliott had managed to curl herself into a ball and refused to come out, crying softly. Cordelia climbed into the car and placed her hand on the frightened girls shoulder, causing the girl to slightly recoil before she looked up and saw the supreme, looking at her with her one teary eye. Cordelia's heart broke for the girl and she found herself crying along with her. She waited until the girl's cries were softer and more controlled before speaking to her. "Let's get you inside ok?"

Elliott looked confused for a moment but nodded, and Cordelia tried to help her out of the car, but stopped when Elliott let out a yelp and shook her head. Elliott was going to have to do it herself. Cordelia nodded at her and stepped out of the car and watched as Elliott slowly inched her way out of the backseat, grabbing Cordelia's hand with her one good one to steady herself and she stepped down from the car. They slowly made their way inside and Mallory quickly went to grab a first aid kit, the other two ladies giving Elliott and Cordelia some privacy as they headed upstairs to their rooms. "Do you think you can make it upstairs to my room?" Cordelia asked gently, still managing to startle the terrified girl. Elliott looked unsure but nodded anyways, wanting to immediately hop in the shower. The girl made it about halfway up the stairs before she looked like she was about to pass out, and Cordelia Immediately had the girl wrap her hand around her neck and lifted her by her legs, holding her by her butt and carrying her the rest of the way like a small child.

Although the girl was almost 16, she was so tiny that it was almost effortless for Cordelia to carry her to the bedroom, and she set her down on the center of the bed, disregarding the fact that the blood was going to ruin the entire bedspread. She started the water in the shower and made her way back to the girl, motioning for her to raise her arms so the older woman could pull off the blood soaked shirt. Through the red that coated the girl's entire torso, Cordelia could see dark red bruising covering her body. She motioned for the girl to lay back and she moved to slide off her jeans, only to realize the button and zipper were already undone. Her throat tightened and she thought she might be sick, but held it together when she saw the young girls glazed over expression. "Is it ok if I take these off?" She asked softly, wanting Elliott to feel like she was in control of the situation. Elliott met her eyes and nodded, and Delia slowly slid the pants down the girl's legs. She left the girls undergarments on, knowing she most likely would have to wash the girl down and she didn't want her feeling completely exposed.

Slowly Elliott managed to get off the bed, wincing with every breath she took. The two of them made their way to the shower, both of them stepping in, Cordelia fully clothed. Elliott looked questioningly at Cordelia and the older woman motioned to the swelling hand. "I have to help you with this one." She said, the girl looked down and nodded, allowing Cordelia to start to wash the blood out of her hair. Three rounds of shampoo later Cordelia could see Elliott's naturally blonde hair again, although it was slightly pink now. She ran a final wash of shampoo through and was relieved when the hair had finally come clean. She put some conditioner in to hopefully stop her hair from completely falling out and went to work on the rest of her body, noticing that Elliott had managed to completely discard the undergarments she had been previously wearing. The girl had managed to get most of the blood off her body, but was having issues with her good arm. Cordelia quickly went to work on it, and luckily the blood came off pretty easily, although her entire body was a light pink from being scrubbed so hard.

Cordelia left the girl in the water as she stepped out to grab towels and a robe, coming back and having the girl step out into the towel as she shut off the water behind her. After drying off Elliott Cordelia helped her get into the robe and walked her back out into the bedroom where Mallory was waiting with the first aid kit, then got herself dried off and changed into pajamas.

When she returned she saw Mallory healing the cut on her cheek as Elliott pressed ice to her swollen eye. "Her hands crushed, I can probably fix it but I'm not sure. I haven't seen her ribs yet, but luckily her eye socket is ok, just a lot of swelling."

Cordelia nodded and went downstairs to grab a glass of water, handing it to Elliott as she pulled out a medley of medication for the girl to take. She put them in the girl's mouth one by one, waiting for her to swallow before she handed her the next pill. Mallory went to work on her hand, slicing it open and reforming the bones slowly. Elliott looked down at her hand and her eyes went impossibly wide, she looked at Cordelia in terror. "It's ok, just let her do it and stay still. I have to call David but I'll be right back." She said reassuringly.

"NO" Elliott said, the first word she had spoken to anyone since they had found her. Both Cordelia and Mallory stared in shock. "You can't tell him." Elliott said, this time her voice much more quiet and shaky.

"Ok, well I at least have to tell him we found you. He's been texting me all night." Cordelia said gently, making eye contact with the small girl. Elliott nodded in return and Cordelia grabbed her phone, sending him a short text "I found her, I'll explain later."

The supreme moved to sit next to Elliott on the bed, stroking the back of her hair as Mallory worked on the other side of the girl. "Thank you" Elliott whispered, almost so softly the two women couldn't hear her. Cordelia gently pressed a kiss to her forehead, and Elliott could feel the tears streaming down the supreme's face. She looked the older woman in the eyes, "I'm sorry" She whispered again.

Cordelia let out a small laugh through her tears and softly smiled at the girl, "We'll talk about that later." She whispered as she kissed the girl's forehead again.

Mallory finished and closed the girls hand, and Cordelia helped Elliott to her feet so she could check her ribs. Mallory gently probed the girl's torso and Elliott winced. "They're fractured, but they didn't completely break. She's just going to be sore for a while. I'm going to go tell the girls." Cordelia nodded and Mallory squeezed Elliott's good hand before leaving the room.

Cordelia grabbed a second pair of pajamas and helped Elliott get into them, cringing as she heard the girl whimper while trying to get a shirt over her head. The supreme helped the girl get settled back into bed before handing her the icepack for her face. She sat down facing Elliott and the young girl stared at the blankets on top of her, fiddling with her now fixed hand. "Does it still hurt?" Cordelia asked.

"Not as bad as before, it's just sore." Elliott responded, her voice clearer now. She quickly made eye contact with the supreme before looking back down.

"Do you want to tell me what happened tonight?" Cordelia prodded. Delia wasn't sleeping until she knew what had happened, but based on the nights events she really didn't think anyone would be sleeping.

Elliott shook her head but didn't look up this time, still messing with her hand. She knew she owed everyone some sort of explanation, but revealing it to them would force her to explain everything, and she didn't want to do that. She would rather they send her away not knowing just how fucked up she really was.

"You know we have to talk about it, right? You can't just pretend like it didn't happen." Cordelia said gently. Elliott couldn't keep this secret, not this time. "Those men in the alley, did you do that?" she asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

Elliott tensed and Cordelia had her answer, the girl breaking into sobs again. "I didn't mean to do it, I promise. I just wanted them to stop. I didn't know that would happen."

Cordelia grabbed the girls mended hand gently. She knew Elliott hadn't done it unprovoked, the girls bruised body and fragile mental state had told her that. "Did you know them?" She asked.

Elliott stared at the twos hands for a while before nodding, "One of them. Thomas."

Cordelia stiffened, "The one from the group home?"

Elliott nodded again, "I knew him before that. His parents were my foster parents. After I left they took him from them. It was my fault."

Cordelia immediately responded "It absolutely was not your fault. You were a kid; they were the ones who were wrong."

Elliott shook her head but continued, "When we were in the group home he started saying I owed him, that I ruined his life, and I really thought I did. It started out small, He would make me give him some of my food or let him play with a toy or something, but it got worse. Eventually if I didn't do what he said, he would "punish me". I didn't want to get hit so I did whatever he said. He started having me sneak out at night to bring him stuff from his friends, weed, pills, whatever. When he aged out, he still came back and said I owed him, so I kept doing whatever he said."

Cordelia felt a lump in her throat, she had an idea of where this was going. She didn't say anything, she just let the girl continue.

"When I left, he found me. It didn't matter where I went. So I did what he asked and he would leave me alone for a little while. Then he would come back. David tried to stop it, had a "talk" with him, and it worked for a little while. Then he came back and said he'd pay me if I kept doing it, so I did. I couldn't get a job at that age, and it seemed easy enough. No cop ever suspects a teenage girl. And that's how he did things, always getting some young girl to do his dirty work, punish them if they didn't comply. So I always did and I didn't tell David. I knew he would just get mad, try to do something. I didn't want him to get hurt, so I lied to him. "

Elliott looked up and saw tears streaming down the supreme's face, she stopped there, shaking her head, not wanting to upset anyone. Cordelia urged her to continue, "Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

Elliott nodded before continuing "When I came here he asked me to do a run, I told him I couldn't because I was somewhere new. He normally is fine with it, he'd rather not get caught. But I guess I didn't offer to do one soon enough. He texted me today and told me I had to do one, there wasn't an option. So I figured it out even though I didn't want to. If I didn't go, he would find me and then we'd all be in trouble. He has so many people working for him, it's like an army. So I went, and it turns out he didn't want me to make a run, he wanted to make me an example. I thought it was just another punishment. I could handle that. But it wasn't and when I realized he was going to kill me I don't know what happened. I just closed my eyes and when I opened them they were dead."

Tears were streaming down Cordelia's face rapidly now, and the older witch moved so she could hug the small crying girl. She felt so guilty about everything, and none of it was actually her fault. She just wanted to protect everyone. "How did he get your phone number?" She asked cautiously.

"I had a burner that I used before to keep in touch with everyone. He texted me there." Elliott said quietly. Cordelia looked at Elliott for few moments before letting out a large sigh and maneuvered them both so they were laying down, Elliott's head on her chest. The two laid there in silence for a while, neither of them even attempting to sleep.

Inside, Cordelia felt white hot anger coursing through her veins. She would never admit it to anyone, but she was glad the piece of shit was dead. If she got the chance to rip him to shreds herself, there wasn't a doubt in her mind that she would do it. She was furious, and she could feel herself vibrating with anger. Elliott felt it too, but was too scared to say anything. She thought Cordelia was angry at her, and she had every right to be. Elliott was stupid, she should've told him no all those years ago, but she didn't. All of this was her fault.

She wanted to cry, but the medicine Cordelia gave her numbed all her feelings out. She was like a zombie and her body was too heavy for her to do anything. She wanted to sleep, but she knew if she slept she would just have nightmares, so she forced herself to stay awake.

Finally, all the anger in Cordelia built up until she was about to explode. She didn't want to scare the already traumatized girl, so she untangled herself and quickly left the room, heading downstairs past the waiting girls and out towards the greenhouse. She flicked on the light and stood facing the wall for a moment, trying to collect herself before she exploded. She couldn't seem to calm herself down and that frustrated her even more, and with a quick thrash of her arm she sent all the plants on the table behind her crashing to the floor. The action made her even more angry, and after a few moments she snapped again, grabbing another vase and smashing it herself. This continued for another 15 minutes until every plant in the greenhouse was lying on the ground, the floor a mess of dirt and broken ceramic. She hadn't even noticed that the other three girls had congregated at the door, watching the whole thing go down.

They stood and watched as she smashed the last vase and surveyed the damage, before she threw herself down on one of the chairs, throwing her head in her hands and letting out a sob. The three of them carefully stepped around the de potted plants and made their way to her, each trying to comfort her.

Meanwhile Elliott had heard the door slam shut and had managed to lift herself off of Cordelia's bed and headed back to her own room. She rummaged through her backpack and grabbed a soft piece of fabric from the bottom, the one thing from her childhood she hadn't managed to lose in the shuffle from place to place. She pulled it out from the bag and laid herself on the bed, holding it as she cried. She was far too old for a baby blanket, and she felt stupid for even feeling like she needed it, but it was the one thing that always made her feel safe. She cried for a few minutes by herself until her eyes burned and her throat was bone dry, then put it back in the bottom of her bag and repacked all of her things in it. They would send her away in the morning, Elliott was sure of it, so it was easier to have her bag already packed and ready to go.

She folded all the clothes Cordelia had bought her and placed them in the dresser drawers, she didn't want to take them with her. She didn't want any memories of what this place was, or how happy she was here. As she packed her bag she once again felt her body going numb. She wasn't sad about leaving, but she wasn't happy either, she felt nothing, she needed to feel nothing. After she was finished sorting her things, she went back to Cordelia's room and laid back in the bed, finally giving in to sleep.

After Cordelia had stopped sobbing in the greenhouse, the four women sat in silence for a while. They all had come to care deeply for Elliott in the short amount of time she was with them, and what happened broke their hearts. Every single one of them had cried that night, even Madison. Cordelia finally spoke, and relayed what Elliott had told her, and she watched as the other three women's eyes filled with the same anger she felt. Madison was the first to speak. "Well then I'm glad the son of a bitch is dead. He's lucky she didn't leave him for us, I would've tortured him." The other two women shook their head in agreeance, and they waited for Cordelia to chastise them, but she simply nodded. Cordelia may have hated violence, but she was fiercely protective of all of her girls. She had half a mind to revive him just so she could kill him herself, but she took some small satisfaction in picturing his charred dismembered body in the alley.

Once the four of them had regained a bit of their composure, they all made their way back inside, following Cordelia to her room. She looked questioningly at them when they all stopped outside of her door. "You think we aren't all staying with her tonight? You're crazy. We'll sleep on the floor." Madison said, and for once her voice wasn't laced with sarcasm. The women walked into the room and noticed that Elliott had fallen asleep, and they tiptoed around picking up all the bloody articles of clothing and the stained bedspread, Queenie taking them downstairs to the trash. They all set up camp, throwing their pillows and blankets on the ground and settled in, Cordelia flicking off the light when the last one was under their blankets. She slipped into her covers and scooched as close to Elliott as possible, smiling to herself when Elliott curled up into her. She placed one last kiss on her bruised forehead before she shut her eyes herself, trying to get even a tiny bit of sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

Elliott had nightmares all throughout the night, the three girls taking turns helping Cordelia calm her down each time she woke up. Elliott had finally given up on a peaceful night by 6am, the one time everyone else stayed asleep. She untangled herself from Cordelia and headed downstairs, her eyes heavy and her body aching. She made herself a cup of coffee and grabbed some pain medication, heading towards the living room. She spotted David sleeping on the couch when she was about halfway there, and for a moment she wondered how he got in, but remembered the girls probably forgot to lock the door the previous night due to the craziness. She paused and debated heading back upstairs and staying in her room, she knew he only had gotten off work a few hours before, and she briefly wondered if Cordelia had told him she was hurt. If he was sleeping on the couch he must have known something was wrong, but then again he always seemed to know when something was wrong, although Elliott did her best to hide it from him. She quietly walked towards the couch and ran her fingers through his hair, and he slowly stirred and looked up at her, quickly sitting up when he saw her face. "What the fuck happened?" He said loudly, causing Elliott to shush him and point upstairs. He looked at her face for a while before saying "Thomas is dead."

Elliott nodded, it was probably all over the news by now. David made room for Elliott on the couch and when she sat down, he immediately pulled her into a hug. She winced, her ribs still emitting a sharp pain whenever she moved, and he pulled back for a moment until she leaned back into him. He was the only person Elliott would ever seek comfort from, he was her safe place. He looked at her with a mix of worry and anger and Elliott quickly said "I'm fine, well I'm not but I'm alive, and it's not nearly as bad as it looks."

David looked at her and she knew he knew she was lying. "If it's even half as bad as it looks I'm worried Elle. What the fuck happened?" Elliott felt a lump in her throat and looked away from him. She knew she would have to tell him she was still in touch with Thomas, that she was still running. She hated herself for lying to him, and as she opened her mouth to apologize he cut her off, "I know you were still working with him." The lump in her throat got impossibly larger and she looked at him shocked, "You spent almost every night with me, and when you didn't you would have some lame excuse. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out you were lying. You're a really bad liar."

Elliott looked insulted, "I am a great liar, thank you very much." She said, laughing for the first time since everything had happened. David offered a small smile, but still looked concerned, so Elliott took a deep breath and told him what had happened, that she turned him down for a run when she first came to the house, and he lost it. She left out the part about him trying to rape her, she knew that would absolutely kill him, and she really wasn't ready to admit that it had almost happened, that she had been that stupid. She still felt like everything was her fault, even though she had always believed women were never at fault for being raped, things were different when it happened to you.

His face hardened the more she told him, and when she was done he looked straight at her, eyes blazing. "The bastards lucky he's dead. I would've killed him." Elliott stared blankly ahead, she knew he would say that. He had the same look in his eyes that Cordelia had had when she told her, although Elliott knew David wasn't mad at her. He never was mad at her.

David's eyes went to her bruised hand and his stare got even harder, her hand looked terrible, still resembling a lobster claw, but the bruises had become a dark purple-red. "It's not broken, well it was, but Mallory fixed it." David looked at her confused and also horrified before she continued "She's a healer, that's her ability." David seemed to accept this but didn't look any less queasy. The two sat in silence for a while as David continued to hold her, and she noticed he was getting sleepy. She pulled away from him and motioned for him to put his head on her lap. He shook his head, obviously exhausted, and Elliott threw him a look, letting him know it wasn't negotiable. He laid his head down and she stroked his hair as he fell asleep, messing with her phone.

Around 10 am Cordelia reached over for Elliott and realized the bed was empty beside her, she quickly sat up and briefly panicked, wondering if Elliott had taken off again. She stood up quickly and stepped around the other sleeping girls, quickly heading to Elliott's room and allowing herself to calm down once she saw the backpack still lying on her bed. She breathed a sigh of relief and headed downstairs, stopping herself briefly when she spotted the girl on the couch before continuing her trek to the kitchen, grabbing herself a cup of coffee. It wasn't until she reached for the cup that she realized in all the chaos she forgot to clean herself up, her hands and arms still tinged with blood. She moved to the sink and scrubbed off as much as she could, reminding herself to take a shower later. As she moved toward the girl she noticed a sleeping David in Elliott's lap. She walked up behind the girl, stroking the back of her head as she whispered "That boy sure does love you."

"I found him sleeping on the couch this morning, apparently we forgot to lock the door." Elliott said softly, giving the supreme a cheeky smile.

"How are you feeling?" Cordelia asked, looking concerned at all the swelling as she ghosted her hand down the side of the girls face.

"Like I got into a fight." Elliott said sarcastically. Cordelia was relieved at how much better the girl appeared to be doing mentally. She was still off, but more like herself. Delia was worried she wouldn't ever come out of her trance from the previous night. She laughed slightly at Elliott's joke before moving to sit in the chair next to her, smiling at the two teenagers on the couch. Elliott was always so tense whenever anyone got close to her, it was nice to see her relaxed. She seemed almost like a normal teenager, if you didn't take into account that she was bruised on most of her body. The two girls sat in silence while Delia drank her coffee, both of them scrolling through their phones. Cordelia noticed that she had about 30 missed calls, all of them from David, spanning from right after she texted him to 5 am, when he must've gotten to the house. Cordelia was thankful Elliott had him, so thankful she didn't really mind that he had let himself into a house full of girls and crashed on the couch. She stared at Elliott for a few minutes, taking in the girl's appearance before Elliott noticed and looked up at her, "What?" She said.

"You look like you haven't slept in days Elliott. You need to sleep." Cordelia said matter of factly, there was no sugar coating it, the girl looked like shit.

Elliott dismissed the comment with a shake of her head, "I'm fine, don't worry about me."

Cordelia let out a laugh at the comment, of course Elliott was telling her not to be worried, but all Delia ever did was worry about the girl. She was pretty sure she hadn't had a full night's rest since Elliott got there, and she could only imagine how many new grey hairs she was going to find after last night's events. Elliott looked at her funny and she replied "Do you honestly think I'm not going to worry about you? You've gotten into more trouble over the last month than any of my other girls have in the entire time they've been here, of course I'm going to worry about you, half the grey hairs on my head are from you."

Cordelia meant for the comment to come across as light hearted, but to Elliott it was just another reminder that she was a handful and probably would be sent away. She faked a small smile but then took an extreme interest in her phone, halting the conversation. Sometimes Cordelia forgot just how damaged the girl really was. She knew it wasn't the girls fault that she got into so much trouble, it had been how she was raised. She was fiercely independent, almost to a fault. Cordelia had felt a pang of guilt in her chest, she really didn't want to make Elliott feel like she was a bother, she was just joking. "Hey," she said to the girl after a few moments, Elliott raising her eyes to look at her, "I'd take your trouble any day, I'm just glad you're safe. That's all."

Elliott didn't say anything, just gave her a soft, more genuine, smile. David started to stir on her lap and both the women watched as he woke up, bursting out laughing when he gave a gigantic yawn. "What?" He said, looking back and forth between them, sitting himself up. The two just laughed again and shook their heads.

"I see you let yourself in last night." Cordelia said, half joking.

"Yea, sorry about that. I got worried." He said, a blush creeping up his face.

"It's fine," She said, dismissing it with a wave of her hand, "You're just lucky one of the other girls didn't find you. If they didn't freak out and maim you they probably would have drawn on your face with sharpie."

Almost on cue the other three girls walked downstairs as the other three in the living room giggled. "I see we have a party." Madison said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

David shook his head and stood up, "Not anymore, I have to get to class. Thanks for not calling the police on me."

Elliott walked outside with him and the two stood outside his car. David grabbed her and pulled her into a big but gentle hug. "Please don't get any more injuries or burn down the city while I'm gone" He said, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. She nodded in return and he said "What the fuck happened Elliott" before hugging her a little tighter and dropping one last kiss on her head.

When Elliott opened the front door she heard hushed whispers and giggles coming from the living room. She walked back towards the women and suddenly all the noise stopped. "What?" Elliott asked when she noticed everyone was staring at her.

"Nothing, just didn't think you and your boy toy were at sleepovers yet." Madison replied, causing Delia to shush her and throw her a glare.

"David is absolutely not my "Boy toy", we're friends Madison." Elliott replied, obviously annoyed.

"So you wouldn't mind if I fucked him then?" Madison snarked back, knowing Elliott would lose her shit if she ever did.

"Madison, that's enough." Cordelia said harshly, not in the mood for Madison's antics.

"You can try." Elliott replied, her expression hard as stone. She knew David would never go for Madison anyways, and honestly it would be funny to see Madison get knocked down a peg.

Madison rolled her eyes and strolled out of the room and upstairs, the rest of the women looked at each other for a few moments then burst into laughter once they heard her bedroom door slam.

The four remaining girls exchanged small talk for a little bit until Cordelia and Queenie had to have an emergency council meeting, at which time Mallory and Elliott made themselves scarce by disappearing into the greenhouse. The council meeting was purely to discuss damage control, the events from last night had already made national news and it was better to be ahead of the game then to be surprised.

Out in the greenhouse Elliott and Mallory worked on cleaning up the broken ceramic all over the floor and replanting all the greenery. Elliott looked confused when entering the greenhouse, but Mallory dismissed the girl with a wave of her hand, "Don't worry about it."

The two didn't say much and instead focused on working, something Elliott was grateful for. She had done a good job acting like she was ok inside the house, putting on a little show for David and Cordelia, mostly to protect them, but her façade was quickly disappearing and frankly she was too tired to keep it up. The less she talked, the better. The two girls were almost completely finished when they heard a knock on the open door, Cordelia standing in the doorframe smiling softly, "Wow you guys sure got this place in shape quick."

Mallory and Elliott looked at each other and smiled, giving each other a high five. Cordelia walked in and started talking with Mallory about lessons for the next day, and Elliott quietly excused herself and headed inside, going to her room for a moment to collect herself and to change into some real clothes.

Despite showering the night before, Elliott didn't feel clean and decided to take a second shower, running the water as hot as she could make it. She stood underneath the scalding hot water and scrubbed her skin until it burned. Even after all the scrubbing, she still felt dirty, like she could still feel his hands on her. She turned her focus to her fingernails and realized they were disgusting, and she scrubbed those until she realized that they probably would never come clean, so she then bit them all until they were bleeding. It still wasn't enough for her, she still felt dirty, she looked at her bright red arms and could still see the blood on them, even though they were bare. She finally gave up, realizing her only other option was to peel off her skin, and she made her way back to her room and sat there in a towel, her soaked hair dripping onto her bed from the tips of her stringy ringlets. She was mentally exhausted, she had felt on the verge of a panic attack all morning and pretending like she was fine wasn't helping. She just wanted to forget the past day's events, but her mind was relentless, constantly replaying all the horrors before her eyes.

Elliott had always been good at compartmentalizing, pushing away all the bad things that were happening in her life, all the trauma. She was good at not letting things get to her, but that wasn't the case with this. It was easier to be fine when no one else knew what was happening, but with everything out on display last night, she knew everyone was focused on her, waiting for any sign that something was amiss. It was nice to have people who cared about you, who were in your corner, but it also meant they were constantly analyzing you, and there was nothing Elliott hated more than being watched. She just had to make it through the day, then at night she could wallow all she wanted in her own bed. She just had to keep convincing everyone she was fine.

Elliott heard the front door open and heard Cordelia and Mallory chatting away downstairs. She quickly jumped up and got dressed in whatever she could find, and had managed to sit back on the bed and open a book before she heard a knock on her door. Cordelia peeked her head around the door and smiled at Elliott before entering, the young girl making room for her on the bed. "You took another shower? Elliott, your hair is going to fall out if you keep washing it."

Cordelia looked concerned and Elliott quickly tried to recover, "I was covered in dirt from the greenhouse. I didn't wash my hair, I'm not insane." She laughed and was relieved when the concern slightly lifted from Cordelia's face, the supreme giving a chuckle of her own.

"Have you eaten anything?" Cordelia asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yea I had some toast this morning. Taking medication on an empty stomach makes me sick." Elliott lied. She hadn't eaten today, but she had taken her medicine and right now she was feeling too nauseous for Cordelia to try and make her eat anything.

Cordelia knew she was lying; they had been out of bread for two days. She had meant to go to the store but hadn't gotten around to it, so the fridge was basically empty. Although in the beginning it seemed like Elliott didn't eat because she wasn't used to always having food, it was becoming far more apparent to Delia that the girl probably had an eating disorder. This wasn't new territory for the woman, the coven had been dealing with Madison's for years, but it still concerned her that the girl had resorted to lying to her. She made a mental note to make sure Elliott ate both lunch and dinner, and quickly moved onto what she really came in to talk about: what had happened when Elliott left the night before.

Elliott noticed the supreme started to look uncomfortable and her stomach immediately dropped, this was what she was waiting for. She prepared herself for Cordelia to tell her she was leaving, her emotional walls quickly building back up. She could deal with this. Hell, this was probably easier than having them all stare at her for the next month like she was a broken doll. The tension in the room quickly became thick, and resembled when Elliott had first arrived at the coven. "Um, we need to talk about last night, when you left." Cordelia finally said, the tension popping like a balloon over heat. Elliott's face slightly relaxed, she wasn't telling her to leave, but this conversation still wasn't one Elliott wanted to have.

Elliott sat there silent for a moment, slightly confused. Why do they need to have this conversation if she was just going to send her away? Just get it over with, don't drag it out. She didn't want to have to explain to Cordelia everything that happened again, she had already done it. "Didn't we talk about it last night?" She said, hoping Cordelia would remember and drop the conversation.

The question took Cordelia by surprise, the two had briefly touched on it when Elliott was explaining everything. Cordelia knew she did it to make her mad so Elliott could leave, but there were still some things left unanswered. "Um, kind of, but I think there's still more we need to discuss."

Elliott felt her walls crashing back up, sky high. She didn't want to have this conversation and she wasn't going to, she didn't have the energy right now and she really didn't want to explain herself to Cordelia. She felt herself getting edgy and tried to calm herself down. "I'm really sorry about last night. it won't happen again, OK? There's not much else to talk about."

Cordelia watched as the girl completely closed off, her voice shaky as she apologized. Cordelia knew the girl was sorry, she knew that last night, but there was still so much of it that didn't make sense. But, Cordelia knew she wouldn't get anything out of the girl in this state. "Hey relax, you aren't in trouble. We're just talking." She said in an attempt to calm Elliott down.

"I just don't see why we have to even have this conversation when I'm leaving." Elliott said quickly and sharply, her face dropping once her brain had registered the words coming out of her mouth. Shit, she thought to herself as she stood from the bed and started walking around.

Cordelia sat on the bed stunned. "I'm sorry, you're leaving? Where are you going?" She was honestly confused. Was Elliott planning on leaving? The young girl didn't respond to the supreme, she just shook her head dismissively and kept pacing. The supreme then surveyed the room. It was pristine, the bed made, the clothes that normally littered the floor were nowhere to be seen. Elliott wasn't a super messy person, but her room was far from the definition of neat. She was a teenager, and they were messy. It hadn't even occurred to Delia that Elliott might want to leave, she had seemed like she was settled in really well.

Elliott's pacing had slightly slowed so Cordelia tried again. "Elliott," She said softly, the girl making eye contact with her, "where are you going?"

Elliott looked at her funny before responding, "Where ever you're sending me. We really don't have to play this game Cordelia, I know I'm leaving."

Everything clicked for the supreme, Elliott thought they were sending her away. Cordelia held in a laugh, knowing how far that was from the truth. She could see why the girl had thought that, she had always been sent away when she was deemed as too much trouble. The idea made her sick but she really didn't blame Elliott for thinking that way when it was so engrained into her psyche. "Elliott, sit down." She said softly.

Elliott ignored her and kept pacing, so Cordelia stood up and walked over to the girl, pulling her into a hug. Elliott resisted and tried to squirm out, but the supreme just held her tightly. "You aren't going anywhere," the supreme said in her ear, causing the girls squirming to slow, "You are here for as long as you want to be, ok? We aren't sending you anywhere."

Elliott nodded against the supreme's shoulder and the older woman released her, grabbing her hand and pulling her back to sit on the bed. While Elliott had calmed down a bit she still had a knot in her stomach. If she wasn't getting sent away that meant she did have to tell Cordelia what happened that night, which she still didn't want to have to hash out. She was hoping her outburst would possibly distract the supreme, but it didn't. After a few moments Cordelia looked at her and said softly," Ok, so what were you looking for in my head?"

"I wasn't really looking for anything in particular, just something that would make you mad." Elliott said honestly.

"Ok, well let's not do that again. My head is my head kiddo. But why did it freak you out so much? You looked terrified." Cordelia said, pushing the girl a little bit. She didn't want to make her upset again, but that night made Cordelia a bit uneasy, like there was something she didn't know. Elliott's face changed and Cordelia knew she was onto something, the girl looked uncomfortable, like she had a secret. "What?" Cordelia said to the girl, letting her know she knew something was off.

"I just- I didn't expect to see that, Fiona." Elliott said quietly, her face still being a dead giveaway that there was something she wasn't sharing.

Cordelia tried to joke around, to loosen the girl up, "I told you she was awful, you didn't believe me?"

"No I did, I did. I um- I guess I knew her a little differently. It was just weird, seeing that." Elliott said, realizing she wasn't going to get out of the conversation, reaching for her backpack and searching through it.

"Wait, what? You knew her a little differently?" Cordelia said, confused by the words coming out of the young girl's mouth. Elliott was still searching through her bag and Cordelia tried to get her to focus. "Elliott, what do you mean you knew her?"

"Hold on." Elliott said, still searching through her bag. She couldn't find what she was looking for and got frustrated, standing up and dumping the contents of bag on the floor. She dropped to her knees and reexamined the contents, pushing items to the side in search of her particular artifact. She had hidden it in the pages of a book, and as she pulled it from the pages she noticed how worn it was getting. She took the old photo and handed it to the supreme, who examined it carefully while all the color drained from her face.

The photo was significantly faded, the colors muted and blending together, but Cordelia still could make out the photograph. She saw a smiling young Elliott being held up, her mouth open as if she was laughing and her arms around the person holding her. While it was a little more difficult to make out who that was, Cordelia still managed to recognize her mother. If the cigarette in her hand wasn't a dead giveaway, her all black Chanel outfit was. The more she studied the photo the more frustrated and confused the supreme became. In all of Cordelia's life, she didn't think she had ever seen her mother smile a genuine smile, at least not one that wasn't her relishing her own cruelty. She looked normal and even happy in the photo, but it didn't make sense to Delia, why would her mother visit the very child she wanted Delia to give up? And why would she not tell Cordelia she was seeing her?

Cordelia tried to form a response to the girl but couldn't get one out without giving away everything she had worked so hard to keep from her. All she managed to squeak out was "How…?"

"She told me she was a friend of my family, I didn't think much of it. I don't remember them that much so even if I did know her from before I wouldn't have been able to recognize her. She just used to check up on me, make sure I was ok every once in a while." Elliott said. The young girl could tell Cordelia was distraught, but she couldn't figure out why, it was a weird coincidence if nothing else.

While Cordelia wanted to know everything she could about Elliott's relationship with Fiona, she felt like if she talked much more about the situation she would fall apart, so she just nodded to the girl and tried to excuse herself as inconspicuously as possible, heading to her study and sitting at her desk, her hands in her hair holding up her head. She was trying so hard to process this but she couldn't. If Fiona was visiting the girl she knew she was in foster care, why didn't she tell anyone? Had Cordelia known she absolutely would've done all she could to get the girl back and out of the system, and Fiona probably realized that. Another example of her cruelty, both to Delia and Elliott. Sure, Fiona probably had her reasons, but none of them were valid to the new supreme.

Yet, Elliott seemed to be fond of her, and Cordelia couldn't fathom that. Maybe it was because she didn't want to think her mother was kind to anyone, because she certainly wasn't kind to Cordelia. How could Elliott love someone who knowingly left her in the system? Maybe the idea had never occurred to her that Fiona could get her out, or maybe she was just grateful someone checked up on her. In a way Cordelia was glad Elliott didn't think poorly of her mother, because if she knew everything that was going on her opinion of her would probably drastically change.

While Elliott had left Cordelia alone for a while to process everything, she did come to check on her after dinner had passed and the supreme hadn't left her study. As much as she tried to distance herself from everyone in the house, she did really care about Cordelia and she didn't like her upset. She quietly approached the door and knocked lightly, jarring Cordelia out of her thoughts. "You can come in." the supreme said quietly.

Elliott opened the door and smiled softly at the supreme. She could tell she was still upset, it was written all over her face, but it still confused Elliott as to why. "Hey, I just wanted to check on you and make sure you were ok, you seemed pretty upset." She stumbled on her words as she spoke, she was never really good at this kind of thing, not that she had to be considering how she grew up. She never really had any friends besides David, at least not any that survived her moves to the next house. Friends were always temporary.

It was all Cordelia could do to not run up and hug the girl, she looked so nervous she was practically shaking. This was a big step for her, and Delia knew it. She knew how hard it was for Elliott to get comfortable with someone, and while Cordelia looked calm, she was jumping inside. She smiled softly at the girl and motioned for her to come in and sit down, her mood instantly lifting. "I'm doing ok, just a lot to think about. How are you doing?"

Elliott had been so worried about Cordelia she really hadn't noticed how bad she was feeling, which was probably a good thing, she liked a good distraction. "I'm ok. You just left after we talked so I was worried, you want to talk about it?"

Cordelia did want to talk about it, and at that moment she was ready to tell Elliott everything, but she was still scared of how Elliott would react, so she pushed all that away and decided to get more information from the girl, she wanted to know everything. "I'm just confused. To be honest Fiona never really seemed to like kids, or anyone for that matter. Did she know about your abilities?"

Elliott hesitated for a moment but decided to tell Cordelia everything she wanted to know, she was tired of keeping secrets all the time. "She knew, kind of. I never came out and told her but she knew I was having issues in my foster homes, she just always used to say I was special. She stopped seeing me when I was nine, and I wasn't really having any issues then, so I don't know, maybe she thought I really just was setting stuff on fire for fun."

Cordelia's face dropped slightly, a part of her was hoping she didn't know. At least then she would have a reason for not bringing Elliott to the coven. The timeline made sense, when Elliott was nine Fiona moved to France, leaving everyone in the coven behind, not that she was that helpful to begin with. "I just don't understand why she didn't take you in, or at the very least bring you here. We normally don't take kids that young, but your powers developed much earlier than most girls, we still would have helped you."

Elliott didn't seem the least bit concerned about Fiona leaving her there, offering some explanation to the older woman. "I asked her once why she didn't take me. She said it was because she needed me to be tough like her, that I was strong and I could deal with it, and that she wanted me to have thick skin like her."

Cordelia immediately understood, Fiona left Elliott in foster care because if she brought her to the coven she felt she would be weak. She always thought of Delia as weak, never realizing Cordelia's biggest weakness was her own mother. Even after her death, Fiona still had a way of hurting the supreme, although she knew Elliott was none the wiser. "You said she was a family friend. Did she ever talk about your parents?"

Elliott thought for a moment before responding, "Not really. I used to ask her about them and the only thing she ever told me was that they were good people and she really liked them. She thought they were good for me."

Cordelia laughed at the comment, Fiona was the one who found them in the first place. Cordelia was adamant that she would find the parents for her child, but Fiona wouldn't let up about them, saying they were a perfect fit. Cordelia didn't believe her but agreed to at least think about them, and after she met them she happened to agree with her mother for the first time about anything. Cordelia continued to push Elliott for more information, but she didn't have much to say, just that she would visit every once in a while and bring her something from her travels or something she thought Elliott might want. She really seemed to treat Elliott like her grandchild, at least to the extent Fiona was capable of. It was obvious Elliott adored her, she told Cordelia she managed to hold onto some of the gifts, and when Cordelia asked to see them Elliott quickly rushed to her room to grab them for her. The young girl quickly came back into the room with a small handful of things: a glass doll from France, the face broken after being stuffed into a bag and shuffled from home to home, a small gold necklace engraved with her name, a stuffed animal that Cordelia thought was hideous but it was clear Elliott loved it.

The last item was something Cordelia wasn't expecting, nor was she prepared for. Fiona had given Elliott a baby blanket, one Cordelia had immediately recognized as her own from when she was a child. She thought Fiona had thrown it away when she had gotten too old, but there it was, completely worn down and torn. While Fiona's actions had caused Cordelia a great deal of pain, she found herself grateful that Fiona had thought to save the blanket before Delia had completely tore it apart, and even though Elliott didn't know that Cordelia was her mother, she still had carried a piece of her all this time.

Cordelia's eyes started tearing up and Elliott quickly noticed, wondering what she did wrong. "Are you ok? Did I do something?"

"I'm ok, I'm just glad she was good to you. Not a lot of people got to see that side of Fiona, as you can imagine. It's nice that someone has some good memories of her." Cordelia said softly. She wasn't ok, the blanket being a blaring reminder to her that she wasn't a part of Elliott's life, but Elliott didn't need to know that. Cordelia was weirdly glad that Elliott didn't have to see the side of Fiona that everyone else did, to be truthful the idea of Fiona as a grandmother was a large part of why Cordelia gave Elliott up in the first place, she didn't want her child to have to deal with that.

Cordelia looked at the time and noticed it was late, the feeling of exhaustion wafting over her. "It's late, we should get to bed, yes?" She stood up as Elliott nodded at her, to be honest Elliott was ready for bed by noon. The two women mad their way out of the room and Elliott started to walk towards her bedroom, Cordelia stopping her. "Nuh uh. You're staying with me tonight kid, no exceptions."

Elliott hesitated, she knew she would be up half the night with nightmares again and she hated bothering people, especially Cordelia. "I'm probably not going to sleep much, I'm pretty restless, I probably should stay in my room."

Cordelia wasn't shocked by this, she felt like Elliott wasn't doing as well as she was leading on, her comment confirmed it, and that why she wanted her to stay with her in the first place. Cordelia just felt better when Elliott was close to her, that way she could help if need be, she didn't care about her own sleep. She was persistent, herding Elliott towards her room, but Elliott said she needed to grab a drink, so Cordelia headed to her room alone as Elliott went downstairs.

Elliott didn't really get a drink; she was just hoping to buy enough time so that the supreme would fall asleep and Elliott could go into her own room with no trouble. She opened the fridge aimlessly, scanning it for anything she might want, but it was practically empty. She reached into the cabinet above her head and grabbed a glass, heading over to the sink to fill it with tap water. The fridge had a water spout on it with a filter, but truthfully Elliott preferred good old tap water, it was what she was used to. She drank a bit of water then set down her glass and headed toward the bathroom, doing anything to buy time. After sitting in the bathroom for longer than she probably should, she walked back out and finished her glass, throwing it in the sink.

Elliott headed back up the stairs only to see the light was still on in Cordelia's room. She tried to pass by as quickly and quietly as she could, but Cordelia was waiting for her. "Where do you think you're going?"

Elliott quickly walked back into view from the lit doorway, "I was going to change into pj's . Is that an issue?" She tried to keep her tone light but she was frustrated that the supreme seemed to know her all too well.

"Don't worry about it, I pulled some out for you, grab them and go change in the bathroom." Cordelia said off handedly. She knew Elliott was trying to stall, and honestly she was too tired for her antics.

Elliott slowly walked into the room and grabbed the pj's laid out for her on the end of the bed. Cordelia was good, too good. She knew all of Elliott's tricks and that made Elliott furious, She understood Cordelia was just trying to help and be nice, but if Elliott wanted to stay in her own bed then she should be able to, the woman wasn't her mother, and frankly a teenaged girl sleeping in her bed regularly was weird. Elliott wasn't five.

Elliott changed and walked back into the room where Cordelia was still awake and reading, waiting for her. As Elliott climbed into the big bed Cordelia handed her a small white pill and a bottle of water, "It'll help you sleep." Elliott took the pill even though she didn't think falling asleep would be an issue, it was staying asleep that was the problem. Once the pill had been swallowed Cordelia flipped off the light and slid down into the bed. Elliott contemplated staying awake until the supreme was asleep then heading for her own room, but she knew that would just cause issues the next morning, so she stayed and prayed to sleep as peacefully as possible, letting her eyes close and falling asleep within minutes.

Cordelia watched the girl once she was asleep, looking for any signs of nightmares. The girl seemed to be at peace for now, but Cordelia was still worried. She had given Elliott a pretty strong sedative in hopes it would help the girl sleep more than two hours straight, maybe a full night, but she was worried if the girl did have nightmares she wouldn't be able to wake up from them on her own. She studied the girl a few seconds more before sliding closer to her so their arms were touching, hoping any movements from the girl would wake her as she herself drifted off to sleep.


	14. Chapter 14

Over the next few nights Elliott continued to stay with Cordelia until her nightmares seemed to subside. However, once returning to her own room, her nightmares were replaced with a strange dream, one the girl didn't understand. Every night, she would be walking down a long school hallway, hearing a woman's scream echo off the cement walls. Each night she got closer to the source of the screams, but she would always wake up right at dawn without actually being able to see what was going on. The dream had left her feeling like she hadn't actually slept at all, and after the fifth day of the same dream, she was practically a walking zombie. Cordelia was worried about her, thinking she was keeping herself up at night to avoid the nightmares, but that couldn't have been farther from the truth. Cordelia pleaded for the girl to sleep with her, if only for one night so she could actually get some rest, but Elliott turned her down every time, wanting to get to the bottom of whatever this dream was. She felt bad that she was making the supreme worry so much, but she didn't want to risk the older woman waking her from her dreams, and so reluctantly the supreme agreed to leave her be.

The warlocks had called an emergency council meeting shortly after, something about a boy they thought was special. They called this particular meeting every couple of years, going on about a possible alpha, and by this point Cordelia was growing tired of the antics. She knew there would never be an alpha, but the men always felt they should be superior to the witches, and it was easier to entertain them then to tell them to fuck off. It would be the first time Cordelia was away from the coven since Elliott had first come to stay with them, and it couldn't have come at a worse time. Delia had half a mind to take the young girl with her so she could watch her, but she knew she was being overbearing and that Elliott would never agree to it, so she booked the council a hotel and a round trip flight. Normally the council would stay in town for three days to a week so they could discuss everything they needed to with the warlocks while they were there, but this time the trip would only be two days, she couldn't deal with being away from Elliott and the coven longer than that, even though she knew the trip would be brutal for her and the rest of the girls.

The time came for her to leave and Elliott still wasn't doing any better, in fact Delia was pretty sure the young girl was coming down with something, which only made it harder for her to leave. While frantically packing, she gave Mallory a never ending list of instructions and told her she would have her phone on 24/7, and Mallory laughed at how crazy the supreme was acting. She was acting like a mother, and all of the girls took notice except for Elliott. Mallory had agreed to constantly text her updates and reassured her that the two girls would be fine on their own and they wouldn't burn the house down while she was gone, hoping to get a laugh from the supreme, but instead she was met with a glare. Mallory quickly took the hint that now wasn't the time for jokes and left the room to go grab Elliott so Delia could give her the same spiel.

Elliott was sitting on the Supreme's bed while Cordelia ran around the room, pulling all the clothes out of the dresser and onto the floor, grabbing what she wanted then running to the next thing. "We'll be fine I promise, I've kept myself alive for 15 years, I'm sure I can handle it for two days Cordelia." Elliott said, laughing at just how panicked the older woman was.

Cordelia shot her a half joking glare before continuing with her rant, "I will have my phone on at all times, even at night. Don't be afraid to call me for anything. Theres an emergency credit card hidden above the fridge in case you both decide you want to go out for food, or if you need more clothes or anything while I'm gone. Feel free to come into my room if you can't sleep or borrow my clothes if you need them, I don't mind. If you leave please let Mallory know where you're going and for the love of god, take your phone with you. No funny business while I'm gone. God damn it where is my hairbrush?!"

Elliott looked down at the mess of clothes thrown on the bed and spotted the brush laying right on top. She picked it up and cautiously handed it to the supreme, who laughed at the girls actions. Cordelia knew she was being crazy, but she couldn't help it, she worried about Elliott all the time. She was still struggling to get Elliott to eat, the girl still wouldn't sleep through the night, if she did sleep, and now she was starting to hide things from Cordelia as to not worry her, which only worried her even more. While she knew that two days of her not eating probably wouldn't kill her and she had told Mallory that it was her job to make sure Elliott ate, she still worried about everything. Elliott practically hadn't left her sight since she had gotten there, and as much as Delia knew the girl was trying to not get herself into trouble, she somehow still managed to do so. She was like a new mom leaving her baby for the first time, and it was hard.

Elliott noticed how tense the supreme was and she knew it wasn't unwarranted, Elliott had a knack for getting herself into trouble. But still, she felt like the supreme didn't trust her to be alone, and that bothered her. She was only going to be gone for a little over 48 hours, its not like she was leaving her to her own devices for a month. Plus, she wouldn't even be alone, Mallory was there and she was probably the most trustworthy person in the coven, its not like she would let her get into too much trouble. Elliott helped the supreme pack and kept reassuring her that she would be fine, but no matter how many times Elliott told her Cordelia never seemed to believe her. She knew Cordelia treated her differently than the other girls in the coven, she was more like a mother figure to her, and while Elliott didn't mind it she had to admit sometimes it got annoying. As settled as she had become at the coven, she still was more independent than Cordelia might like, and when Delia got overbearing like this it was all Elliott could do to not throw a fit. She was 15 years old, almost 16. She absolutely could take care of herself for a few days.

Elliott had helped Cordelia finish packing and triple checked that she had everything she needed, trying her hardest to quell the older woman's fears to no avail. After the coven had had once last dinner together a car had come to get the council and take them to the airport, and finally after Cordelia had finished stalling the women had to leave if they didn't want to miss their flight. Mallory and Elliott went to hug the women goodbye, and when Elliott went to hug Cordelia the older woman hugged her like it was the last time she was going to see her, refusing to let go. Elliott didn't want to be the first one to break the hug, she knew the supreme was worried, so she let her hold her, Delia squeezing her a little too tight for comfort. When the supreme finally pulled away she kissed her forehead and reiterated again that Elliott could text her whenever she wanted, the young girl nodding at her and noticing the supreme's teary eyes. The other girls basically had to pull Cordelia out the door and into the car, and once the door closed Elliott and Mallory shared a laugh at how worried the supreme was, and only a few moments later Elliott's phone dinged, the two women laughing again once they realized it was a message from Cordelia. "She's been gone 10 minutes and she already thinks the place has burned down." Elliott chuckled.

The two women went their separate ways, Mallory heading for the greenhouse and Elliott towards to library. The young girl sat and read until it was far past midnight, finally finishing and closing the book she had only started a few hours prior. By this point she had read through most of the library, so she had resorted to re-reading some of the books she had previously read. She checked her phone and wasn't surprised to find nearly a dozen messages from Cordelia since the women had landed. She quickly responded to the older woman to reiterate that they were still in fact alive, only to almost instanteously receive a response from Cordelia about her needing to go to sleep. She chuckled to herself and rolled her eyes, but responded that she was heading to bed and bid the supreme goodnight.

Elliott showered and quickly got into bed, falling asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. She once again had the same dream, and she was in that long hallway once again. This time, she didn't wander slowly, she practically ran to where the screams were coming from, flinging open a classroom door and making her way towards the screaming girl. She was far too old to be in school, but there she was, her classmates forcing her to dissect a frog over and over again. Elliott moved to grab the frog from her, but was pulled back by someone. She turned around and was met with a very tall man, his face resembling a skull. He was creepy, but Elliott for whatever reason wasn't frightened. He spoke first, "Who are you?"

Elliott didn't answer his question, brushing him off and offering a question of her own. "Why are they making her do that?"

"My dear, you don't belong here. She does, its her punishment." The man was calculated with his response, sizing up Elliott and trying to figure out exactly how she got there.

"Her punishment? What is this, hell?" Elliott was being sarcastic, but the man just laughed at her. None of this was making sense. "I need to help her."

"You can't help her, only I can, witch." The man laughed at her again, which only made Elliott angrier. This was her dream, of course she could help her.

"Then do it." Elliott said fiercely, testing the creature in front of her. He wasn't human, Elliott knew that much.

"What's in it for me? I don't release anyone without a price." The man pulled out a cigar and lit it, blowing smoke in Elliott's face. "However, I don't need you running around my land causing trouble, I already have a helper. So I'll make you a deal. You don't come back, and the girl is yours." Elliott nodded and the man snapped his fingers, disappearing into the smoke.

Almost on cue, Elliott woke up. She rolled over and checked her phone, it was only 4am. Elliott felt sweaty and cold at the same time, her stomach rolling as if she was about to be sick. She quickly ran for the bathroom and just managed to put her face over the toilet before the contents of her stomach came back up. She wretched for a few moments before she felt someone pulling her hair back and rubbing soothing circles on her back. She finished puking and sat back, looking back and jumping when she realized the person helping her wasn't Mallory.

She stared into two blue eyes and immediately recognized the girl from her dream, her curls wild but her face was kind, a shawl draped around her shoulders. "Well that couldn't have been much fun." The girl said simply.

Elliott held in a scream, and the woman took notice of the girls ghostly face. "Who are you?" Elliott asked, terrified.

"M'y names Misty. Can I ask you a question? Where is everyone? I was downstairs with everyone doin' the seven wonders, then I woke up and everyone was gone. Where's Miss Cordelia?"

The woman didn't seem like she was the type to rob a house, but she also didn't seem to remember anything. Elliott was put slightly at ease by the mention of the other witches, this must be the girl they lost when trying to find the new supreme. "Cordelia's gone, council stuff. You said you were Misty? I need to go get Mallory."

"Who's Mallory? Why would Delia need to go to the council, shouldn't Fiona handle that? It's the middle of the night, we don't need to wake anyone, I'll just go sleep in my room. Let's get you to bed, you look sicker than a dog." Misty helped the girl up and the two walked towards Elliott's room, Misty helping her get settled into bed saying softly before she left, "I like you, you're smart, maybe you're one of my tribe."

Elliott fell back asleep, waking up a few more times during the night to puke, and chalked Misty's appearance up to fever dreams. No way was that girl back from the dead, it was all just a dream, a messed up dream. She slept well into the afternoon, and when she finally pulled her aching body from her bed, she came downstairs to find Mallory sitting at the counter. Mallory looked up at her and immediately took in her sickly appearance. "I need to call Cordelia; you look like shit Elliott."

"No, don't call her it's fine. It's probably just the flu, and she'll be back tomorrow anyways." Elliott was slightly relieved everything had seemed so normal, it only confirmed that the past night's events were just a dream. Mallory quickly got Elliott some medication to bring down her fever, cringing when she felt just how hot the girl really was. She quickly handed the younger girl a cup of tea to take her meds with and went to work on making her some food that would be gentle on her stomach. Elliott took her meds and ate the food she was given, but only a few minutes later she was running to the bathroom to throw it all back up. Mallory was behind her to hold her hair, and once the girl was finished she helped clean her up and took her back to bed, getting her settled in and then heading back downstairs for supplies. Elliott fell back asleep before she had returned, and a few hours later Mallory woke her up to get her to eat and take more meds. "It's better to throw up food than just straight stomach acid. I know you don't want to eat but you have to, trust me it'll make it 10x better."

Elliott reluctantly ate with Mallory watching her, then the older woman left to make a call. Elliott knew she was going to call the supreme, so she snuck down after her to listen to the conversation. "Cordelia it's fine, im handling it. Kids get sick, you don't need to rush home. Yes, I've been giving her food and medication, but she hasn't been able to keep any of it down long enough for it to work. Yes, she's been sleeping, she slept almost all day. No, you don't need to get an earlier flight. It's fine, we will see you tomorrow." Mallory hung up the phone and Elliott walked into the room glaring at her. "She would have killed me if she came home and you were sick and I didn't tell her. I did us both a favor."

Just then, Misty walked into the kitchen behind them, opening the fridge in search of food. Mallory screamed and Misty immediately whipped around to face her. "What? I was just hungry. You must be Mallory, I'm Misty. You feeling better Elliott?"

Mallory looked at Elliott in fear and Elliott just stood there. So she wasn't dreaming, Misty was really back. It had to be a weird coincidence, her dream. Maybe it was the universe trying to tell her that this would happen, who knows. She turned to Mallory and started explaining what had happened the night prior, leaving out her weird dream. "I thought I was dreaming last night because of the fever. Misty helped me when I was puking last night, said she was doing the seven wonders one minute and when she woke up everyone was gone. "

"You still look sick. I'ma go to the greenhouse and get some herbs to help with ya stomach." Misty said before running out in search of her herbs, Mallory putting her phone to her ear, Cordelia's name on the screen.

"And on that note, I'm going to go puke and lay down." Elliott said, too exhausted to deal with the chaos she was sure was going to ensue. In her fevered haze, she made her way back to her room, but somehow ended up in the supreme's. She quickly ran to the bathroom and puked for a good while, throwing back up all the food she had consumed and her medication, not giving it enough time to even dissolve. She had to admit, throwing back up whole pills fucking sucked, and she made a mental note to not let Mallory give her any more medication. Once she was sure her stomach wasn't going to revolt against her further, she wiped her mouth on the back of her hand and stood up, flushing the toilet and washing her hands in the sink. She debated making the trek back to her own room, but she was exhausted, so she settled for Cordelia's bed, hoping the supreme wouldn't mind. She passed out almost immediately, completely covering herself in the blankets in hopes she could sweat out whatever was the issue.

Elliott was woken a few hours later by a hand on her head, brushing away the few sweaty strand of hair stuck to her forehead. Cordelia placed the back of her hand on her forehead and winced at the heat she felt. Elliott was still hazy and didn't fully register the woman standing in front of her, mumbling something incoherently. "What sweetie?" Cordelia said softly.

"Mama you can't tell her, she's gonna get mad. She can't know." Elliott said sleepily, Cordelia wasn't even sure the girl was awake. Her heart fluttered at Elliott calling her "mama", but with how high Elliott's fever was she wasn't even sure the girl knew who she was talking to.

"Can't tell who what baby? Who's going to get mad?" Cordelia said softly.

"Cordelia, she can't know I'm sick, she'll send me away. You can't tell her." Elliott said

softly, tears brimming in her glazed over eyes. She started trying to get up, but Cordelia pushed her back down.

"I won't send you away, just go back to sleep." Cordelia said, her heart breaking and tears welling up in her own eyes. Elliott was still scared they would send her away, no matter what they did she always worried about it and that broke Cordelia. Elliott nodded and started to relax back into the bed when her stomach lurched. She quickly threw herself from the bed and ran towards the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before her stomach lurched and she was sick again. Cordelia was right behind her, holding her hair and rubbing her back. Mallory was right, throwing up straight stomach acid sucked, the throat burned with every wave that hit her, and when she tried to breathe in between puking her lungs felt like liquid fire was filling them. The more she tried to stop herself from puking the more violently she did, eventually she was wretching nonstop, struggling to breathe in between rounds.

Cordelia was concerned, her fever felt far too high and she was violently puking with nothing in her stomach, not even water. She tried to get the girl to breathe in between her throwing up, but there wasn't much time for her to be able to. The supreme tried to comfort her as much as possible but the more the girl puked the more Delia worried she was going to have to take her to the hospital. Finally, the girl stopped throwing up and took a breath, but she was too weak to even lift her head off the toilet seat, much less stand up. Cordelia had to practically lift her off the bathroom floor and carry her back to bed. Once she got Elliott settled back in bed she walked to her side and sat down, watching Elliott for a few moments to make sure she was still breathing. Cordelia was exhausted, after all she did transmutate across the country, but she wasn't going to sleep in case Elliott needed her.

Soon Mallory walked in with a glass of water and some medicine and shortly after Misty came bounding into the room. "I got the herbs!"

Cordelia had been so focused on Elliott she had completely forgotten that Mallory had said Misty had come back, to be honest Cordelia didn't take her that seriously. So when the blonde Cajun came bounding into the room Cordelia stood up and almost screamed. She stood there a moment taking in the blonde, not quite sure she was real. She stared at her for a few moments before Misty said "Miss Cordelia?"

Right then Cordelia practically sprinted across the room and pulled Misty into a hug. She thought she was gone forever, and while she had done her best to come to terms with it, Misty's death still haunted her every day. "You're back." Cordelia whispered softly into Misty's hair. She pulled away and asked, "How….?"

"I don't know, Mallory told me I died that day, but I don't remember anythin' about it. I just woke up and I was in the same spot as before, but everyone else was gone." Misty said truthfully. Cordelia was kind of glad Misty didn't remember her time in hell, if she had she most certainly would have been traumatized. But if Misty was here, that meant Papa Legba had freed her, and Cordelia knew he wouldn't do that without getting something in return. It worried her a bit, maybe he released her and would come asking for something in return, but Delia would deal with that later.

Elliott had sat back up in bed and was drinking the water Mallory had brought, woken up by the ruckus the women were making. Mallory handed her the medication but Elliott refused to take it, pulling Cordelia and Misty out of their conversation. "You need to take it Elle, we have to bring your fever down." Mallory said frustrated. Elliott just shook her head and pushed the medication away while she sipped her water.

Cordelia watched the two go back and forth until Mallory tried to feed it to Elliott and the young girl smacked the medication out of her hand. Mallory was irritated but she wasn't mad at the girl, and she looked to Cordelia for what to do, who responded by waving her hand, letting Mallory know she would deal with it.

Once Mallory had left the room Misty immediately ran to Elliott side and began explaining the herbs to her. Elliott did her best to seem interested in what Misty had to say, but the idea of eating a bunch of dried plants was making Elliott feel even more sick, and she knew if she even attempted to take them she would just throw them back up. "Misty, why don't we give those to Elliott once her stomach isn't so rocky, we wouldn't want to waste them when she's still getting sick." Cordelia said gently. Misty agreed and sat down at the bottom of the bed at Elliott's feet, making it clear she was going to watch the child until she was better. Elliott laughed a little bit, Misty had seemed to take a liking to her but she didn't mind.

Cordelia had made her way towards Elliott and rested the back of her palm against the girl's forehead, once again wincing when she felt how high the girls fever was. Elliott seemed to be more cognitive though, which was a good thing. "How are you feeling?" Cordelia asked cautiously.

"Not great, but it's fine I'll be ok. I'm just tired." Elliott said half truthfully. She didn't think she had ever felt quite this bad, but she knew Cordelia was concerned so she tried to be brave for her.

Cordelia didn't get any less worried though, instead she took the now empty glass of water from Elliott and headed downstairs. She came back with a full glass and a bunch of supplies, one being a thermometer. She motioned for Elliott to open up and slipped it under her tongue, growing more concerned once she read the reading. "103. Elliott, we're going to have to take you in if this doesn't go down fast." She went to hand Elliott the same medication Mallory had tried to give her earlier, but Elliott once again refused. "Elliott, we have to get this fever down, you have to take it."

Elliott shook her head again, "They just come back up anyways, and it fucking sucks to throw up a bunch of huge pills. It won't work."

"Language missy. We have to get something down you, and even if you throw them back up they'll still dissolve and help a little bit." Cordelia said. She knew Elliott was right, she wouldn't keep them down long enough for them to fully dissolve, but this was the only option she had unless she wanted to make a hospital trip.

"We could go get ta' liquids maybe? I know they're for kids and all, but they couldn't hurt." Misty said from the foot of the bed. It shocked Cordelia that Misty was the one to suggest more medicine, normally she would be the one screaming about how they didn't need it. Maybe things had changed.

Elliott quickly threw herself and ran to the bathroom once again, falling to her knees and barely missing smacking her head off the toilet. She tried to control her puke as much as possible, but once again she started puking so violently she couldn't breathe, and she thought she might pass out. Cordelia and Misty were quickly behind her, trying to soothe her in whatever way they could. Misty looked up and Cordelia, who was standing up holding Elliott's hair. "Go get the medicine, I got her, we ain't going anywhere."

Cordelia shook her head at first, refusing to leave the sick girl, but Misty just looked up at her and she knew she had to go, the sooner she got the medicine after puking, the longer it had to work before she was throwing it up again. Misty grabbed Elliott's hair from her and she leaned down to press a kiss on Elliott's head before she left. Running downstairs and taking off for the nearest convenience store. Elliott continued to wretch for another 10 minutes until she was practically gasping for air, her head falling limp to the toilet seat under her. The two sat there for a few moments, Misty continuing to rub her back, before the Cajun looked at her and said, "Delia sure does love you, doesn't she?"

Elliott looked at her for a moment through tired eyes and her sweaty hair. She hadn't ever really thought about it, her and Cordelia's relationship. It was vastly different from her relationship with the rest of the girls, but Elliott had always thought it was because the other girls were much older and had families of their own. She shrugged at Misty in response, she really didn't know what to say. She never let the thought occur to her that her relationship with Cordelia was anything other than what it was, she never once stopped to consider that the supreme would actually love her, or even care about her at all. It made sense, and Elliott found she loved Cordelia too, but she wasn't great at dealing with feelings, so she didn't want to label it. Misty didn't push further, she didn't really need Elliott to answer her, it was obvious. The two sat on the bathroom floor until Cordelia came back, walking in to find Elliott practically asleep on the toilet.

The two women helped get her back in bed and Cordelia poured out the medicine for her to take. The young girl took it without complaint, then drank a fresh glass of water before sliding back down in the bed. At this point, it was all she could do to keep her eyes open, and soon she was fast asleep, the two women watching her closely as she slept.

Once they knew she was ok and fast asleep, the two women chatted quietly amongst themselves, Cordelia telling Misty everything that had happened with the coven since she was last there. Misty wasn't shocked Cordelia was the supreme, she had a hunch when they first met, but she knew the woman would never think that much of herself. Misty asked about the new girls and the conversation quickly turned to Elliott. "So whats up with her? She wasn't here before." Misty said quietly, trying not to be rude, but she also knew there was more to this girl than her just being another witch.

Cordelia's face dropped slightly, and she looked over at the young sleeping girl with worried eyes. Cordelia knew she couldn't tell Misty everything, she would absolutely let her secret slip, but she gave Misty a general idea of what was going on. "She was a runaway from foster care. She got her abilities early and they tended to get her in trouble with her foster parents, so she ran away. I found her by accident and brought her here. She's a great kid, she just got dealt some really bad cards."

Misty nodded at the woman, she already liked Elliott, she got good vibes off of her, like she would do anything for the people she loved. "So are you goin' to adopt her then? I mean, it's obvious you love her, more than the other girls. You're her mama."

Cordelia looked at the young girl again and then fixated on her hands. She did love her, more than she thought possible, but there was too much history behind it. "It's complicated. There's a lot of things that could change, I don't know what I'm doing yet and I don't even know if she would want that. She's stubborn and there's still a lot of things she doesn't know." Truth was, she had thought about adopting Elliott, but that meant that Elliott would have to be told everything, and Cordelia wasn't sure how she would take it, or if she would hate her afterwards. It scared her to think that everything she had built with Elliott could be destroyed by her secret. Delia knew she should have told her by now, but she held off, and now she feared if she did tell her that Elliott wouldn't react well, like she had been lied to, and truthfully Cordelia wouldn't blame her if she did.

Misty shook her head, "It's not complicated, you love her and she loves you. You're her family now, everyone needs a tribe." Misty knew how it felt to be alone and finally feel like you found where you fit, she felt it with the coven and with Cordelia, although she would never say it out loud.

The two women noticed the sleeping girl was starting to stir and Cordelia quickly stood up and made her way towards her with the thermometer, slipping it under her tongue once she opened her eyes. She checked the reading and grimaced, her temperature wasn't going down even with the medication, which meant her fever was only getting worse, without the medicine Cordelia was positive her temperature would be over 104. "We have to take her in, it's not going down. She's dehydrated and weak. Damn it."

Elliott mumbled something about not having to go, trying to appear fine but the more she tried to talk the more apparent it became she wasn't fine. Cordelia worked on packing a bag for her and the girl while Misty tried to get Elliott to stand, only for the young girl to fall back down every time she tried. She was too weak to even move, and her speech was starting to slur together. She sat the girl back down on the bed and looked at her with worried eyes, they were going to have to carry her. Cordelia made her way towards the two of them and stared at Misty, she was terrified and it was written all over her face. Misty stepped in, saying "Go start the car, I'll bring her down." Cordelia nodded and ran downstairs, telling Mallory where they were going and heading towards the car. Misty looked at the girl and tried to figure out exactly how she could get her downstairs. She tried to get Elliott to stand and walk with the older woman supporting her, but Elliott could barely stay on her feet. She quickly set the girl back down and reevaluated, "Put your arms around my neck and hold on, I'm going 'ta carry you." Elliott nodded at her and wrapped her arms around her when the older woman leaned down, and Misty put her arms under the girl's knees and around her back, lifting her. She was surprisingly light and Misty carried her easily to the car, sliding her into the back and having Elliott lay her head on her legs and she slid under the young girl.

Cordelia drove rapidly, her knuckles white from how hard she was grabbing the steering wheel. She pulled into the Emergency parking lot of the hospital and hopped out of the car, running to grab the door from Misty so she could pick the young girl up. Luckily it was a slow night, so they immediately got taken to the back and got an IV put in for fluids.

Elliott was more awake now and was terrified, she hated hospitals. Every time she went to the doctors or had to be taken to the hospital she ended up leaving the place she was at, and a lot of the times her foster parents dropped her off and just left her there until her social worker showed up. She tried to act calm but the fear was written all over her face and she was practically sobbing, begging Cordelia to take her home. Cordelia seemed to be totally zoned out, pacing back and forth as Elliott begged, so Misty hopped into the hospital bed and held the girl, which seemed to help a bit, but Misty knew the girl wanted Cordelia, so she tried to talk to the woman and get her to even look at them.

Cordelia was so lost in her own head she completely missed the scene unfolding behind her. She was pacing and staring at the clock, willing a doctor to come in and give them some sort of answer, but none even walked past the partially closed curtain. She tried to calm herself down, after all kids did get sick, but she had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that something bad was going to happen, that this was about to become much worse if they didn't figure out what was going on soon. Misty finally yelled her name and she broke her trance, noticing the swamp witch had moved into the young girls bed and was holding her. She looked at the young girl and noticed how terrified she looked and Cordelia immediately felt guilty. She had been so caught up in her own head she hadn't even thought of how the girl might feel about hospitals. Misty untangled herself from the girl and pulled Cordelia outside of the room, Misty attempting to calm Cordelia down. "She's gonna be fine Dee, but she scared out of her mind right now, and all she wants is you."

Cordelia nodded at her through teary eyes, she knew she was being dramatic, but she had never dealt with this before. It killed her to see Elliott so sick, and she was more worried than she had ever been. She was a wreck, but she hated herself that she got so caught up in it that she wasn't there for the young girl when she needed her most. The two women talked for another few moments before they heard the machines in Elliott's room go wild, beeping rapidly. Nurses rushed in and the two ran back behind the curtain to see Elliott convulsing on the bed. Cordelia burst into a sob and Misty grabbed her and pulled her to her, blocking the older woman from seeing what was happening. Elliott stopped convulsing after one of the nurses pushed something into her IV, falling lax on the bed. "She's ok, her fever spiked and it caused a seizure. As bad as it looks it's actually pretty common. She'll be ok, were paging a doctor right now, he should be here in a few moments to check her out."

Misty nodded as the nurse walked out of the room, a few straggling behind to check all of Elliott's stats and note something in her chart. Neither Misty or Cordelia moved, and Misty held the supreme as she cried. A few moments passed and the Doctor came in, first moving to introduce himself to the women and explaining the seizure once again. He quickly checked over Elliott and got her symptoms from the women, and he agreed it was probably just a really bad case of the flu. Misty saw out of the corner of her eye that Elliott was starting to wake up again, and she quickly walked over to her and grabbed her hand, Cordelia and the doctor following.

The doctor talked briefly with Elliott but didn't get much information that he didn't already know, just how long she had been getting sick. He checked her mobility and some other things before telling the women that he wanted to admit her at least overnight, probably until her fever was gone, and give her some medication through her IV that would help bring down her fever until her body had gotten rid of the virus. The two older women thanked him and he left, motioning to a nurse and briefly talking with her before she starting drawing up the paperwork to admit her.

Elliott was still out of it but once the Doctor left she totally broke down. "I don't want to be admitted I want to go home; I don't like it here." She cried and Cordelia immediately hopped in the bed and pulled the scared girl towards her, letting her cry and she let go of a few tears herself. Misty stayed next to Cordelia and tried her best to comfort the two women, but really all she could do was hold Elliott's hand. Once the two had seemed to calm down she tried to crack a joke, getting small smiles from the other two, but no laughs.

Almost an hour later Elliott was finally moved to a different room for the night and a different bed, and once she got settled in the two older women went in search of food. It was late and the cafeteria was closed so they settled on vending machines, grabbing Elliott some ice cream from one of the specialty ones. They strolled back into the room and Elliott's face immediately lit up, even breaking into a smile once Misty handed her the ice cream sandwich.

The three of them quickly ate their food and were trying to settle in for the night, but the hospital room really wasn't made for more than the patient to sleep there. Elliott scooched over and made room for one of them, and a nurse offered to grab extra pillows and blankets. The two older woman argued over who would take the bed, both of them offering to take the floor, but Misty made Cordelia take the bed. After all, Cordelia was the one who Elliott needed the most. Cordelia reluctantly climbed in but let Misty know they were definitely switching halfway through the night, and Misty nodded, knowing full well she wasn't ever going to take the bed from the older woman. Cordelia and Elliott snuggled up and the girl was asleep in minutes, the nurse bringing back extra pillows and blankets, which she handed to Misty before putting more medicine into Elliott's IV. Misty got situated on the floor and looked up to see Cordelia already fast asleep, her arm protectively around Elliott. The nurse hit the light as she left and Misty laid down, finally falling asleep herself.


	15. Chapter 15

The next afternoon Elliott woke up to an empty bed. She turned over expecting to see the witches, but instead she saw David sitting on the chair asleep with a book cracked open on his lap. She debated getting out of bed to wake him up, but she was all wired up and she knew getting out of bed would be a hassle, so she threw her pillow at him, smacking him in the face. He jolted awake and dropped the book from his lap, it slamming to the floor. "That was rude." David said simply.

"I know but you are supposed to be studying, not sleeping. Don't you have an exam tomorrow?" Elliott said, a cheeky smile creeping up her face.

"I do but someone decided her life wasn't exciting enough and had to have a SIEZURE. You really aren't helping me out here Elle." David teased, picking his book up off the floor and setting it back on his lap. Someone walked past the door and Elliott quickly looked towards it, willing the witches to come back. "They went to pick up the girls from the airport, they should be back soon." David said softly, hoping this would reassure the obviously scared girl.

Elliott smiled softly and nodded, trying to make it appear that she was fine. She didn't believe him, whenever her "family" had left her at the hospital before, they hadn't come back, so Elliott began to prepare herself for the worst in her head. David tried to distract Elliott by having her quiz him on his chemistry, which he failed miserably. Elliott was good at chemistry and tried her best to help him, she knew science was one of his weaker subjects. "You have to match up all the extra electrons, they all want to be bonded, and since there's two carbons here they'll make a double bond. See?" Elliott tried to explain. David nodded at her but when he went to try again he still screwed up the diagram, trying to double bond the hydrogen. "Hydrogen only has one electron to give, so it will only ever have one bond, you put it on the ends like this." Elliott explained again, scribbling a diagram on a napkin. David did another practice quiz, and while he passed he still was struggling, so Elliott continued to work with him, looking up at the door anytime someone passed by the room.

David took notice and quickly shot off a text to Cordelia, "You coming back soon?"

Cordelia quickly responded, "We're on our way back now. Just grabbing food. Everything ok?"

David breathed a sigh of relief and responded, "Yea, Elliott's awake. She keeps looking at the door so I think she's nervous." He slid his phone back in his pocket and tried to focus on what Elliott was telling him, but to be honest it didn't make much sense to him. Chemistry was his hardest class, and no matter how much he studied he just couldn't understand all the rules. He knew he was going to fail this exam just like the last one, but it was too late for him to drop the class. A nurse came in to check Elliott's IV and distracted her for a minute, and while the nurse was fiddling with the bag he said to Elliott, "Cordelia is on her way back, they just stopped to grab some food."

Elliott threw a glare at him, "You didn't have to text them. I'm fine, really. Don't bother them." Truth was she was relieved, although even Cordelia's text didn't do much to quell the butterflies in her stomach. She knew she was being stupid; Cordelia had never given her a reason not to trust her. But after so many times of being left it became an irrational fear that Elliott couldn't shake.

She tried to take her mind off it by continuing to help David, but David was tired of studying, he knew it was of no use, so he started asking questions to distract Elliott. "Who's the girl with Cordelia, Misty? I never met her when I was at the coven."

Elliott paused for a moment, trying to figure out how she was going to word her answer. Misty was complicated. "She used to be at the coven before I got there, then she went away for a while, and now she's back."

David felt like there was more to the story than that, but he didn't understand a lot of things about the coven so he decided to drop it, mostly. "What's up with her and Cordelia? Are they a thing? Cause I'm getting weird vibes and tension off them."

Elliott laughed, so it looked like she wasn't the only one who thought that way. Elliott felt the tension in the room since the moment Misty came back, but she didn't think either of the two older women realized it. "They're friends, as far as I know. But yea, there's something there I think. I really don't have any room to ask though, it's none of my business."

The two continued to chat for a few minutes until Elliott had managed to pester David into studying some more. She was used to his games to get out of work, and whenever she would stay at his apartment, before the coven, she would have to force him to study. She knew he was smart, but he was also easily distracted. The two were bickering over his chemistry when Cordelia walked into the room with a bag of food, laughing at them. "So I guess someone's feeling better?" Elliott nodded, the butterflies in her stomach quelling as a nurse walked into the room. "Well if you're feeling better then we can get you to eat. I brought burgers and shakes, although it's not the most nutritious meal."

Cordelia looked at the nurse for confirmation and she nodded her head, then motioned for Elliott to open up so she could take her temperature, looking slightly concerned at the reading. "Her fever is still really high, I'm going to page the doctor and he can take a look at her. Might just be that her body hasn't gotten rid of the virus or there could be something else going on. "

Cordelia got her worried eyes again and Elliott's face dropped, the young girl really hoped if she acted like she was ok then they would let her go home, but now her plan was foiled. The nurse made a hasty exit and Cordelia cleared her throat softly, trying to hide her obvious worry, "So you aren't feeling better then?"

Elliott didn't respond for a moment; she really didn't know how to. She wasn't puking anymore, so in that sense she was better and she didn't feel as weak as the day prior, but being on fluids probably was helping with that. She still didn't feel great though, her stomach really hurt and her body felt like it was hit by a truck. She wanted to ease the older woman's fears so she spit out, "I'm fine, really. I'm doing better you don't have to worry."

Cordelia shot her a glare, she hated it when Elliott said she was fine, because most of the time she wasn't. She appreciated that Elliott cared about her enough to try and lie to her, but she was really bad at it. She started pacing again and Elliott's head dropped, she knew she was busted. David was sitting quietly, taking in the interaction. It was weird to have someone else care so much about Elliott, and while David appreciated Cordelia, he was starting to feel like an outsider in Elliott's life. The two of them had gone from spending every day together to hardly seeing or talking to each other, it was strange.

Just then Misty walked through the door, a huge stuffed animal in her arms. Elliott laughed as Misty said, "I found the gift shop! Wait she's pacing. Why is she pacing?"

"The nurse just checked and my fever isn't going down. She's upset." Elliott said softly, her smile breaking. As much as she knew Cordelia was worried, the way she showed it came off more as anger, and Elliott was worried that anger was directed at her. Misty looked at the older woman and then at the younger girl, trying to decide what to do. She ended up walking towards Elliott, who immediately made room for her on the bed. Misty knew there was no calming Cordelia down, not until the doctor came in. Elliott leaned against her but couldn't stop staring at Cordelia, waiting for her to blow up at any second.

The room was tense until the doctor came in, no one speaking. Misty hopped off the bed so the doctor could look at Elliott, and made her way over to a still-pacing Cordelia, placing her hand on the older woman's shoulder. "So your fever isn't going down huh? You feeling ok? Any new symptoms?"

"Um not really, my stomach hurts but it does that sometimes. I don't feel like im going to puke anymore though." Elliott said honestly, slightly recoiling when she watched Cordelia put her fingers to her temples, obviously stressed out.

The doctor took note of Elliott's apprehensiveness, "Can you lay back for me? I need to check your stomach and make sure that's all good." Elliott leaned back and the doctor probed her abdomen, wincing slightly at what he felt. "Her abdomen is rigid. Could be her appendix. How long has your stomach been hurting? And how bad, on a scale of 1-10?"

"Since last night. I thought it was just because I was throwing up so much. It's not that bad, really. I don't think it's my appendix." Elliott said quickly, noticing Cordelia starting to pace again.

"Scale of 1-10, how bad is it?" the doctor asked again, looking at Cordelia out of the corner of his eye. Misty grabbed Delia to stop her from moving, and the older woman caught on that Elliott was nervous because of her.

"Um, an 8? Not as bad as a broken bone, but not good either." Elliott said honestly, quickly looking up at the two women then looking back down at her hands.

"We'll get an ultrasound and see what's going on, if it's still hurting and it's only an 8 then that's a good thing, it means we caught it pretty early. I'll have a tech come get her really soon and we'll figure this out." The doctor said, smiling encouragingly at Elliott before leaving.

A few moments later a nurse came in to administer some pain medication to help with Elliott's stomach. "Now, this might make you feel loopy, but it will help a ton with your stomach." Elliott nodded but looked nervous as the nurse pushed the medication into her IV.

"Cool, now we get to mess with you." Misty said, throwing a cheeky smile towards the girl as David laughed next to her. Elliott tried to smile back, but the fear was written all over her face. Misty looked toward Cordelia who had stopped pacing, but was staring at the floor. David could feel the tension in the room and stepped in to distract Elliott with some jokes, and Misty took the distraction as a good time to lead Cordelia out into the hallway. "Hey, what's going on with you? The doctor said they caught it early, she's going to be fine Delia."

Cordelia finally looked up at the woman and her eyes were full of tears, threatening to spill over. Misty pulled her into a hug and the older woman finally lost it, sobbing into Misty's shoulder. "I don't like seeing her sick, I just want her to be healthy and happy. And she told me she was feeling better earlier when she wasn't. Her stomach had been hurting since yesterday and she didn't want to mention it because she was scared we would be mad. She's scared to tell me when she's in PAIN. What does that say about me? That she can't even be honest to me about when she doesn't feel good?" Cordelia said through her tears.

"Her not tellin' you has nothin' to do with you, it's the way she was brought up. Foster kids don't say when they're sick, it just gets them into trouble. That's why she doesn't like bein' at the hospital, it scares her. It's got nothin' to do with you Delia." Misty said, pulling back from the supreme and looking her in the eye.

The supreme started to shake her head, but stopped when she saw the Cajun giving her a hard stare. She knew Misty was right, after all the girl freaked out when they were gone for a couple of hours, Cordelia saw the relief flood her face when she walked back into that hospital room, she didn't think the supreme was coming back. But something else was bothering the supreme so she looked down again as she spoke. "You know I had my appendix taken out, and that pain was easily the worst pain I've been in, worse than being blinded. And for her it's only an 8. A fucking 8. How the hell has she been in worse pain than that?"

Misty just shook her head, she had no words. She tried to think of something to say that would calm Cordelia down, but there really wasn't anything that would. So she settled for a joke, "Well since she's been here you've only managed to ruin her appendix, so I would say her quality of life has improved drastically." She smiled a soft half smile at the end and Cordelia bust out laughing, pulling Misty back into the hospital room where Elliott and David were bickering, oblivious that the two women had returned.

"Come on just let me mess with you a little bit." David said, poking Elliott in the ribs.

"No, knock it off." Elliott said forcefully, slapping his hand away.

"Why not?" David laughed back.

"Because I don't want to say dumb shit." Elliott said emphatically, proving just how loopy she really was.

Misty snickered at the response and both Elliott and David jumped, realizing it wasn't just them in the room. Cordelia broke a small smile, but was quick to call Elliott out, "Language missy. I know you're out of it but come on."

Elliott thought for a moment, her normal filter being distorted, "Maybe it was better when you were pacing." She said truthfully, her high demeanor taking over. The whole room bust out laughing and Elliott's face turned beat red, realizing exactly what she said. "See, this is why I didn't want you talking to me, dumb shit." She said emphatically, looking at David as the whole room laughed to the point of tears.

"Can you imagine if Madison was here?" David asked trying to hold back his laughter.

"Yea, she'd be too busy trying to fuck you to bug me." Elliott said offhandedly, and the whole room just stared at her. "Well at least you aren't laughing at me anymore." More silence. "Hey she told me, in front of you might I add, that she wanted to fuck him. It's not a secret." Elliott said pointing to Cordelia, who was trying to choke back laughter.

"I'm not going to sleep with Madison, Elle." David said seriously.

"Well I know THAT, I'm not stupid. I just said she was going to TRY, not that you were going to do it here in the hospital room. I think that's TOO kinky, even for her." Elliott said emphatically again, not realizing how ridiculous she sounded.

Cordelia chuckled then walked over to Elliott, kissing her on the forehead and ruffling her hair. "Ok, that's enough for now loopy. Scooch over." Elliott mumbled something about moving over but still complied, resting her head on the supreme's shoulder and staring up at the lights. "You ok over there?" Cordelia asked, a grin on her face.

"What the fuck did they give me? Acid?" Elliott said still staring above her head. "Oh shit my language, sorry!" she said, sitting up straight and covering her mouth with her hands. Cordelia chuckled and leaned the bed back so Elliott could stare without hurting her neck. The other two in the room just chuckled quietly in the corner, amused.

Just as Elliott was starting to fall asleep on Delia's shoulder the tech came into the room to grab Elliott for her ultrasound, wheeling her away in a wheelchair. The three left in the room decided to finally crack into the bags of food the two older women brought, but by then the milkshakes were melted and the burgers cold. They quickly ate them anyways, knowing Elliott couldn't eat if she was going to have surgery, and they didn't want to taunt her with them.

Just as they finished cleaning up Elliott was brought back, her once goofy grin turned solemn. The nurse got her situated back in bed and administered some more pain meds before beginning, "It's her appendix, so we have to take her for surgery. The surgeon is going to come in in a few minutes to talk with you and then we'll send her to pre-op."

Cordelia nodded as the nurse left the room, situating herself back on the bed with Elliott. Elliott quickly curled up into Cordelia's side and started to cry. "I don't need surgery. I'm fine. My stomach doesn't even hurt that bad anymore."

The supreme wrapped her arms around the girl. She knew the young girl was scared, in truth so was she, but Elliott needed her to be the strong one right then, and so she was. "That's the drugs babe. You do need the surgery. I'm sorry but this isn't going to go away on its own. But we'll be right there waiting for you to come out."

Suddenly, Elliott sat straight up, remembering something. "I can't have the surgery. David's gotta go to work."

"I got someone to cover me Elle, I'll be here all night. Or at least until they kick me out." David said, smiling at the last part.

"At least it'll give you time to study chemistry. You need it." Elliott said, trying to be mean but just coming of as high. The whole room bust out laughing as Elliott got mad and rolled towards the wall opposite everyone, huffing. "I don't want it." She said softly, almost so softly no one except Cordelia could hear her, her voice cracking at the end.

Cordelia rubbed the young girls back to soothe her, and Elliott quickly rolled back over and curled up onto Delia's side again, her tear streaked cheeks glistening under the florescent lights. Cordelia wiped her tears away with her thumb and pulled the girl closer. "You'll be ok Elle'. I got my appendix out and I'm still here. I mean I sorta' died twice but that's a different story. It wasn't my appendix. Just think of all the ice cream we're gonna' get you after!" Misty said, smiling at the girl and getting a small smile back.

Cordelia stroked Elliott's hair and whispered, "You're going to be just fine baby girl." smiling softly at her. The three adults in the room chatted about this and that, David talking about how school was going, Misty talking about the girls' reaction to her, and Cordelia worrying about getting her lesson plans done for when the girls returned to school. Elliott just sat quietly letting Cordelia play with her hair. The medication was making her exhausted and sleepy, but she forced herself to stay awake, although she really wasn't listening to what anyone was saying.

The doctor briefly came in and talked with Cordelia, but Elliott didn't pay much attention, just enough to nod when appropriate. Right after the doctor left a nurse came in to take Elliott down for pre-op, and once seated in the wheelchair Elliott started panicking again, her eyes quickly filling with tears as she looked up at Cordelia. "Will you go with me?" she asked softly.

Cordelia looked to the nurse for confirmation then nodded, the three of them heading downstairs. Pre-op was a blur for Elliott, who spent most of her time practically strapped to Cordelia's side while the nurses poked and prodded at her. The doctor had noticed Elliott's anxiousness while upstairs in the room for her, and decided it would be best that she was put under before she was brought into the OR, that way she wouldn't be alone. Cordelia stayed by her side until she was asleep and they wheeled her off, her own heart fluttering as they did, and then headed back upstairs to be with the others.

The three of them tried to make small talk, anything to pass the time. David tried to study but couldn't focus, no matter how much Cordelia tried to help him. Misty kept cracking jokes that would fall flat, the air in the room tense with uncertainty. Eventually they all sat in silence, waiting as patiently as possible for Elliott's return.

It was 4 hours and 20 minutes before the doctor came into the room. 4 hours and 20 minutes that Cordelia had been stuck in her head, worrying and thinking about Elliott. She had gone through every possible scenario and every hiccup that could possibly happen, and in those 4 hours and 20 minutes, she came to one conclusion: She would be devastated if she lost Elliott, in any capacity. By the time the doctor had entered the room, Cordelia had decided she was going to adopt Elliott and tell her the truth, the whole truth, soon. She wasn't quite sure how she was going to do it yet, but this secret was killing her and she couldn't hold onto it much longer, not if she wanted Elliott in her life.

The doctor told the three of them that the surgery went exactly as planned and you could almost feel the tension in the room break, and everyone breathe a sigh of relief. A few minutes after he left, Elliott was wheeled back into the room, still asleep. It was late, and everyone was exhausted, David falling asleep sitting up in his chair. The two older woman chuckled a little bit but covered him with a blanket so he wouldn't be cold. Elliott woke around 2am, but only long enough to scoot over so one of the women could sleep in the bed with her. The two awake women argued over who would take the bed, Cordelia adamant that Misty take the bed as she took the floor the night before. Misty argued once again that Elliott would want Cordelia, and as much as Cordelia didn't want Misty to win the argument, she did, taking her place on the floor. Cordelia had half a mind to ignore Misty and sleep on the floor with her, but she knew Elliott would want her when she woke up, so she huffed as she slid into the bed, feeling guilty as she closed her eyes and went to sleep.


	16. Chapter 16

Elliott stayed at the hospital for one more day then was released. She was supposed to be on bedrest for the next week, but Cordelia found herself constantly having to chase after her and force her to get back in bed. She didn't blame the girl for being stir crazy, but Elliott refused to sit still and had already tore her stiches twice. Mallory tried to heal the cut as best as she could but even healing a small cut on Elliott was draining, let alone a surgical cut.

Cordelia was once again searching for Elliott five days after her surgery after finding her missing from her bed. She checked the library and the living room, but nothing. She shook her head and groaned, realizing that Elliott must be in the greenhouse with Misty. While Cordelia loved that Misty and Elliott had gotten so close, Elliott was supposed to be keeping the incision site clean and dry, and every time she went out to the greenhouse she came back covered in sweat.

Cordelia made her way towards the greenhouse and smiled to herself when she could hear giggles through the open door. She stood in the doorway a moment and just looked at the two girls, who hadn't noticed her presence yet. Both had their backs to her and were working on a large plant that had seen better days. While Cordelia still wasn't happy that Elliott was in the greenhouse, she did take note that this time the girl was at least sitting in a chair.

She walked up behind the girls and ruffled Elliott's hair, "You are supposed to be in bed you know. That's the whole point of bed rest, laying in bed and resting, and you are doing neither babe."

Misty looked at Cordelia and then at Elliott, "Busted." She said, trying to hold in her laugh.

"I'm not in bed but I'm sitting! That's rest!" Elliott said, looking up at Cordelia with pleading eyes, earning her a small chuckle from the supreme. "And look, I even have the fan on me so I won't get all sweaty. This is the future of bed rest ladies." Elliott said emphatically, causing both Misty and Cordelia to bend over laughing.

Cordelia composed herself and kissed the top of Elliott's head as she chuckled, "Ok, fine. But only for a few more minutes. What are we working on?"

"Misty keeps bringing this plant back but within a few hours its dying again and we can't figure out why. I suggested maybe it needs a bigger pot, but me and Mallory just moved it to a bigger pot, so it should be fine." Elliott said, shaking her head in confusion.

"It's gotta' have a parasite. That's the only reason this could be happenin'. But I don't know how to fix it." Misty said, obviously frustrated.

Cordelia shook her head; she didn't know what to do either. Elliott sat and thought for a moment before her face lit up. "Hey, this might work. You have to let the plant die completely. If it's dead the parasite has nothing left to feed off of, so it will either die or find another plant. Once it's gone you can bring the plant back!"

Misty smiled at her, "Yea that could work, let's try it!"

The three of them got up and left the greenhouse, Cordelia's arm around Elliott. The started the trek back to the house when Elliott heard a whimpering noise behind her, forcing her to stop in her tracks. Cordelia and Misty stopped as well and looked at her with concern, thinking something was wrong. "Do you hear that?" Elliott asked.

"Hear what?" Cordelia responded, shaking her head and trying to usher the girl back inside.

Elliott pulled away from her and listened again, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. The two women looked at her questioningly and suddenly she took off running back towards the woods behind the greenhouse. The two older woman screamed her name and went after her, she wasn't supposed to be running and she knew it. When they caught up to her she was trying to lift a branch that had fallen behind the greenhouse. When the two women got closer they could hear the whimpering Elliott had heard earlier. "Elliott, stop. You know you can't lift anything you're going to rip open your stitches again." Cordelia said firmly and a little bit harshly, causing Elliott to look up at her.

"Then help me. There's a puppy stuck under here." Elliott said pointedly. Cordelia's features immediately softened, she knew how much Elliott loved dogs, and she instantly felt bad for yelling at the girl. Misty stepped in and grabbed the branch from Elliott, lifting it just high enough that the young girl was able to kneel down and gently grab the puppy, moving to sit back on the ground as Misty set the branch back down and made her way towards the girl.

The puppy was very small, maybe a few weeks old at most, and Misty moved to grab the puppy from Elliott while Cordelia tried to gently get the girl up, being careful not to tug at her too much. "I'm going to get this one inside to Mallory, it looks like his back legs are broke." Misty said gently, gesturing to the puppy before taking off.

Now that Elliott was upright again Cordelia noticed that blood was coming through her shirt, and she lifted it a little to see that the young girl had in fact ripped her stitches again. She winced then covered the wound again, wrapping her arm around Elliott and leading her back to the house. "Listen, I know you had a reason. But for the love of god Elle, you have to be more careful. You need to start taking care of yourself and putting yourself first." Cordelia said, pausing their walk to turn Elliott to face her, forcing the girl to make eye contact.

Elliott looked at the supreme then back down to the ground nodding, "Yea, I know. I'm sorry." The two women went back inside and saw Mallory working on the puppy, fixing all the broken bones. Cordelia noticed Elliott fiddling with her hands, a nervous look on her face. The supreme briefly made eye contact with her before she looked back down, then slowly looked back up, whispering, "Can we keep him?"

Cordelia stared at the puppy, he was very cute, his fur a bright white with small black speckles, his eyes a bright blue. But Delia worried about how small he was, he was definitely too young to be away from his mother, and the supreme was worried if he would even survive. She didn't want to get the girls hopes up only for he to be crushed, so she said "Let's get a vet to look at him and then we'll see, ok?"

Elliott slowly nodded her then made her way towards Mallory, who was finishing her work. Mallory looked up at her as she lifted her shirt, showing the damage Elliott had done. Mallory threw a playful glare at her, then motioned for her to lay down. Elliott grabbed the puppy and put him on her chest as she did, the young dog snuggling up to her immediately. Cordelia smiled, she had a feeling this dog was going to be around for a while.

Mallory did what she could to fix Elliott's wound while Cordelia called for a vet. It wasn't the first time one of the girls had brought home a stray animal, but it was the first time she had even entertained the idea of keeping them. Once she knew the vet was on his way she returned to the girls, who had now focused on getting the puppy to drink some water. Elliott was sitting up holding the dog while Misty was filling an eyedropper bottle with some water to give to him, and Cordelia had to admit the scene was pretty cute. Elliott hadn't noticed the supreme standing there, she was too enthralled with the dog, and Cordelia could immediately see that Elliott was in love with him. Cordelia shifted in front of her and she looked up, smiling softly at the supreme. "I got the water!" Misty exclaimed, running towards the girl and her dog.

"I called the vet, he's on his way to check this little guy out." Cordelia said, bending down to pet the puppy as he drank from the dropper. "He is pretty cute." She said, smiling at Elliott, who broke out in one of the most genuine smiles Cordelia had ever seen. Cordelia knew then that she was going to do whatever it took to keep that dog alive and with them, anything to keep Elliott this happy. While Cordelia hadn't brought up the adoption to Elliott yet, she had been in contact with her lawyer to start the whole process and get an idea of what she was getting into, and the lawyer had made everything sound so easy. It seemed the hardest part of all this would be actually telling Elliott, which Cordelia still hadn't figured out how to do.

After giving the puppy some water the girls tried to play with him on the couch, but it seemed all he wanted to do was curl up in Elliott's lap and sleep. A knock on the door alerted the girls to the Vet's arrival, and Cordelia quickly went to go get him. He quickly worked on checking the dog out, then ran some tests to make sure the dog didn't have heartworms or any other condition from being a stray. Luckily, besides being malnourished the dog seemed to be in good health, his legs being fully healed already. He was much younger than most dogs were when they were weaned from their mother, and the doctor was also pretty sure he was the runt of the litter, but the vet gave them the all clear to keep him, as long as they followed his instructions for properly feeding him. Cordelia took notes and asked a lot of questions about what they should be feeding him and how often, and after she was done with her questions the Vet left, saying he would come back in a few weeks to check on the dog. Cordelia showed him out then walked up behind Elliott, who was letting the small puppy chew on her finger. "You know, if we're going to keep him he needs a name." Cordelia said, smiling down at the girl.

"We can keep him?" Elliott asked, her excitement written all over her face. Cordelia laughed and nodded at her and Elliott jumped up, running around the couch to hug her, the puppy in her arms. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! I promise I'll take care of him!"

The two of them walked upstairs to Cordelia's room and set the puppy on the bed so Elliott could play with him without worrying about ripping her stitches again. The two laughed as the puppy clumsily stumbled around the bed, falling over his own feet as he chased after Elliott's hand, finally catching it and chewing, although the girl didn't seem to mind. "So, what are you thinking about naming him?" Cordelia asked, offering the girl a small smile.

Elliott stopped playing and looked up at the woman, "You mean I get to name him? Don't you want to?"

"Well he's your dog, you should get to name him. So what will it be?" Cordelia said, tickling the girl's sides a bit.

Elliott thought for a moment, she never really had ever picked out a name before. It was a lot of responsibility. She watched the puppy stumble around a bit more and fall over himself, laughing before saying "What about Max? He's silly, he seems like a Max." She looked to Cordelia for confirmation, her eyes wide, worrying that the older woman wouldn't like her name.

"Max it is. It's perfect." Cordelia said softly, the younger girl breaking into a huge grin. Cordelia smiled back, and decided that now was the perfect time to ask about the adoption. She had to take a leap of faith, and it was better to bring it up now when Elliott was already in a good mood rather than later. "Hey Elle, can I ask you about something?" Cordelia asked, her breath catching in her throat, she was nervous.

Elliott looked at her and nodded, "Sure, what's up?"

Cordelia took a deep breath before beginning, she still hadn't thought about exactly what she was going to say, so she was just going to have to wing it. "Do you like it here? With me, at the coven?"

Elliott looked at her confused, but nodded, "Yea. It's nice here, why?"

Cordelia took another breath, trying to calm her nerves, "Would you like to stay here? Permanently I mean, with me."

The more Cordelia talked the more confused the girl became, and the more anxious she got. "Was I not supposed to be here permanently?" She said carefully, the fear etched on her face.

"No, no! You were, are. Wow I'm just really bad at this aren't I?" Cordelia said, frustrated with herself. Elliott just looked confused so Cordelia continued "What I was trying to say, um, ask." She paused, "You are always afraid that I'm going to send you back, and I don't want you to feel like that, and while you were in surgery I was thinking about how devastated I would be if you left and…." Cordelia took a deep breath, "And I was wondering if you would like it, or be ok with it, if I adopted you?"

Elliott stared at the older woman for a moment, trying to comprehend what she was saying. It was like she heard the words come out of her mouth, but her brain couldn't fathom it, the idea of someone wanting to adopt her. It revolted against it, and Elliott waited for a moment, thinking the woman would tell her she was joking. However, when she didn't Elliott knew this wasn't a joke, but she still asked "You… want to adopt me? Are you sure?"

Cordelia looked at the young girl and laughed a bit, smiling at her. "Yes, I'm sure. Do you want it though? I don't want you to feel like you have to say yes, you can still stay here regardless." She said, her tone serious. She didn't want Elliott to feel like if she said no she would be sent away, that was the exact opposite of what Cordelia was trying to do.

Elliott just kind of stared at her for a moment, not really believing it. Someone actually wanted her, it was hard to wrap her head around. It also terrified her, being permanently tied to someone else. What if all they did was fight? What if a year from now Elliott didn't want it anymore? Elliott hadn't even really thought about her relationship with Cordelia, at least not in this way. It was scary for her, to think about someone else caring about her enough to permanently take her on. "But… I give you grey hairs. You don't want me, trust me." Elliott said truthfully, the dog nipping at her finger and drawing her attention towards him.

Elliott was waiting for Cordelia to agree with her, that she was too much trouble, but instead Cordelia grabbed her face and made Elliott look at her. "I'll take all the grey hairs in the world if it means I get to have you in my life. Elliott, I'm not rushing into this, I want YOU. I've wanted you from the day I met you. That's not going to change, no matter how much trouble you get into." Cordelia almost told Elliott the truth, that would have been the perfect time. But for some reason, she choked, not being able to get the words out.

Elliott stared at the older woman, perplexed. How did she not see how badly this was going to end? How did she not realize she would hate Elliott a few years down the road? But truth be told, Elliott couldn't even understand why Cordelia wanted her in the first place. She stopped to think for a moment about what she wanted. Did she want to stay with Cordelia? Elliott thought about being away from the older woman and her stomach knotted, she really didn't want to be anywhere else. But did she love Cordelia? Enough for Delia to be her mother? Elliott immediately knew the answer was yes, and that scared her even more. How had she let herself get so attached to this woman so quickly? She didn't even realize it was happening. But Elliott stopped herself from being so harsh to herself. This woman was saying she wanted her, forever. And Elliott wanted her. So Elliott pushed aside all her conflicting emotions and looked up at the woman, slowly nodding her head. "Ok." She said softly, watching as Cordelia's face broke out into a huge grin.

"Ok?" Cordelia asked excitedly.

Elliott looked at her and smiled, then let out a laugh as she said "Ok. Yes."

Delia's smile got impossibly wider and she almost tackled the girl to the bed, but remembered her stitches. She instead pulled her into a hug, her body bouncing up and down with excitement as the younger girl laughed. The supreme was normally so relaxed, this was a whole different side of her, even to Cordelia. She wanted to scream and jump up and down, but she didn't want to scare Elliott off, so she just hugged her extra tight and dropped a kiss in the hair, holding her for a few extra seconds. "Oh," the supreme said as she pulled away, "We still need to get all the things for the puppy, food and a cage and puppy pads and toys. We have to go to the store." Elliott nodded and motioned for them to go right then, but Cordelia shook her head at her, "Nuh uh missy. You are still supposed to be on bedrest. I'll take Misty with me, you sit back down."

Elliott looked at her strangely as she sat back down, "Can I ask you a question? And if it's too far you can tell me to shut up."

Cordelia looked at her funny but nodded, curious as to what her question might be. "Shoot." She said.

"What exactly is going on between you two?" Elliott asked apprehensively, fully expecting Cordelia to tell her to mind her own business.

Cordelia's words got caught in her throat, she had hoped her crush on Misty wasn't painfully obvious, but if Elliott had caught on then chances were everyone else had too. "What do you mean? We're friends."

Elliott looked down at her hands, she had gone too far and she knew it. "Oh, nothing. Nevermind. My bad."

Cordelia felt guilty, she knew she had made Elliott feel bad and she didn't mean to. She walked towards the bed and sat down. "Is it that obvious?" she said, poking at the young girl.

Elliott chuckled, "That you two are into each other? Kind of."

Cordelia laughed but then paused, "Wait. You think Misty is into me?"

"Oh she is absolutely into you. You were the first person she asked about when she came back, and you two have practically been inseparable since." Elliott said, laughing at how unaware the supreme was.

"Who else knows about this?" Cordelia said, feigning anger.

"Well no one KNOWS because neither of you have said anything, but I'm pretty sure all the girls suspect it and David was asking me about what was going on between you two when I was in the hospital. And if he's noticed then it's pretty obvious, he's oblivious to that stuff." Elliott said, chuckling.

"He might not be the only one who's oblivious Elle. And since we're talking about this stuff, when are you going to realize that boy is in love with you?" Cordelia said, poking at Elliott's sides again, getting a laugh out of her.

"David? He is NOT in love with me." Elliott said incredulously.

"He so is. That boy would jump in front of a bus for you, he wants to marry you and everyone knows it. Even Misty, and she hasn't even been here very long." Cordelia said teasingly.

"Have you two been talking about me? DO NOT talk about me, especially when you two won't admit you like each other." Elliott said, pretending to be offended.

Cordelia got serious for a moment, "No. Me and Misty…. it just won't happen, it can't."

Elliott's tone got more serious as well, "Why can't it?"

Cordelia didn't really give her a decent answer, just shook her head and said "Just too much going on right now." Delia took that moment as a good time to make her exit, kissing Elliott on the forehead before she left. "Now you stay in bed and REST. And please, do not let the dog pee in my bed."

"No promises!" Elliott yelled after her, earning a laugh as the woman made her way down the stairs. A few minutes later Elliott heard the front door close and the house go silent, the other girls had left earlier to go to dinner and some party, so Elliott was left alone with the puppy, who was fast asleep on her lap. Although Elliott didn't want to admit it, she was exhausted from the day, so she slipped underneath the covers and snuggled the puppy, laying him on her chest as she fell asleep.


	17. Chapter 17

About an hour later, Misty and Cordelia burst through the front door, their arms so covered in bags they could barely fit through the doorframe. Once inside, they looked at each other and giggled. "Do ya think we got enough?" Misty said, throwing a playful smirk towards the older woman.

Cordelia looked at her then looked at the bags surrounding them and bit her lip, unsure that the mounds of supplies they had were enough. "No, but we can always go back I guess." She said, throwing the remaining bags in her arms down as Misty headed back out to the car to get the crate and playpen for the dog. A sleepy Elliott heard the women's arrival and walked down stairs to see them, puppy in hand. About halfway down the stairs she caught sight of the sheer amount of bags Cordelia had and her eyes went wide. Cordelia looked up at her and smiled a half smile, "Opps, caught." She paused, "What? Max needs this stuff. I'm just being a good dog mom. Also, he definitely peed on you."

Elliott looked down and her damp shirt then shrugged, "At least it wasn't on the bed." The young girl walked all the way downstairs and Cordelia met her with a hug and a kiss on her forehead as Misty brought in two very large boxes in one trip.

"There, all done." Misty said, obviously proud of herself.

"Mist, you should've waited for me, I would've helped you." Cordelia said exasperated, grabbing one of the boxes from the taller woman.

"Did you buy the whole store?" Elliott joked and she looked in the bags, "Delia, what does this dog need a sweater for in New Orleans? We don't even have winter!"

Cordelia bit her lip to keep herself from laughing, she knew Elliott was right, she had gone overboard. "He's so small, he might get cold at night. Plus, I travel a lot. Now he can go with me."

Elliott rolled her eyes and smirked at the older woman, who poked her sides in return. "I'm going to take him outside, although he probably doesn't even have to pee anymore. Did you happen to get a collar and leash while you were there or was it purely an excursion for sweaters?"

The supreme rolled her eyes, "Yes, I got a collar, AND a leash. Give me a second I just have to find it and his tag…" Elliott laughed at the woman as she searched through each of the many bags, coming up with items that were not what she was looking for. "Ah hah!" She finally said, grabbing a baby blue collar and matching leash, holding it up as Elliott chuckled at her. "What?" she said, "It matches his eyes."

Elliott chuckled but nodded as Cordelia tried to fit the collar around Max's neck, "It does, good job." Cordelia smiled and her and stepped away from the dog, his collar far too loose around his neck, one ear standing straight up as he looked at her. Elliott snickered as Cordelia bust out laughing. "Well, it looks like I'll just have to keep a close eye on him. Shouldn't be too hard, little dude trips over his own feet every other step. How fast can he move?" Elliott said, taking the leash from Delia anyways as she headed outside.

Cordelia laughed at the girl and made her way over to help Misty set up the playpen for the dog in the living room, laying down puppy pads as Misty set up the walls. "Why do we have this and a crate again?" Misty asked, stepping away to admire her handy work.

"Because this house is too big to let Max roam free when he's this young, plus he isn't trained yet. Once he is a little bigger and goes to the bathroom outside he can wander, but right now when we can't watch him he'll stay here. And when he's bigger we can crate train him so he doesn't tear things apart while we're gone." Cordelia said matter-of-factly, standing up with Misty. The two high fived and walked towards the front door, standing out on the porch watching Elliott and the dog.

The young girl was sitting on the steps while the puppy jumped at his leash that she was dangling above him, falling over himself with every leap. She looked up at the two women and smiled, and the puppy managed to grab the leash and yank it down, Elliott scooping him back up and heading back toward the two women. "What's up?" She said brightly.

Cordelia just shook her head and smiled. "Nothing, just watching you," she said, "But I have to go get some work done before dinner. You ok with going out tonight?" Cordelia finished, ruffling the girl's hair as she nodded.

After the supreme had gone back inside Elliott noticed Misty was staring at her, just smiling. "What?" She said, throwing Misty a playful glare.

Misty moved to sit on the hanging swing, Elliott following behind her, placing the puppy on her lap as he squirmed. "Nothing," Misty began, "I just heard the good news, that's all. I'm happy for ya Elle. You deserve this, really."

Elliott blushed, Cordelia had told her. "Of course she tells you about that, but won't talk to you about the things that are actually important." Misty looked at her confused. "Why can't you two just admit that you like each other? It's obvious, but you guys can't seem to figure your shit out. It's frustrating."

Misty got red in the face. "Cordelia doesn't like me, Elle. No way."

"Uh, yes way. Can't you see it? It's written all over her face! Plus, she told me. She doesn't think you like her, which you haven't denied that you do, by the way. Not that I would believe you if you did." Elliott said emphatically. She was tired of them playing these games, they were both happy and miserable at the same time, and Elliott didn't for one second buy Cordelia's "There's too much going on" excuse. It was lame to be honest.

"I- uh…. I don't know Elle. I don't think either of us are ready for that right now. Delia's got you to take care of and the coven, that's a lot ta deal with, and I don't want ta add ta it by confessing my feelings for her. That's not fair ta her babe. I'm sorry." Misty said honestly, staring down at her feet and she swung back and forth.

Elliott knew she was right, but she also thought both the women were being stupid. There was never going to be a good time, they just had to do it. Elliott nodded at the older woman then stood up, the puppy in her arms. "I need to go call David" she said softly before heading inside to her room.

On the way up she noticed Cordelia's study door was open, and she smiled at the older woman as she walked past. "Hey you," Cordelia said, drawing the girl back to the doorframe, "Whatcha up to?"

"Nothing, was just going to call David, I haven't talked to him in a while and I wanted to see how his chem exam went. Why, what's up?" Elliott said curiously

"Oh, he's already coming over," Cordelia said waving her hand, "I invited him for dinner tonight. Is that ok?"

"Well it would be a little too late if it wasn't," Elliott said, chuckling, "Yea that's fine, what time are we going?"

"I was thinking 6:30? Anywhere you would like to go in particular?" Cordelia said, already knowing the answer.

"No, I'm fine with anything." Elliott said quickly, Cordelia mouthing the words as they were leaving her mouth, "Are you making fun of me?"

"Maybe just a little bit. I didn't tell David yet, I figured you would want to do that. He'll be here at 6." Cordelia said, giving the girl a soft smile.

Elliott nodded then left the room, heading for her room and lying down on the bed as Max licked her face. She felt guilty for trying to intervene with Misty and Cordelia, she knew she overstepped. But all she wanted to do was make them happy, she hoped they knew that. Now she was worried that things would be awkward between them, or that they would avoid each other, especially since Elliott had told Misty it was frustrating. She didn't want that either, it would just make her feel even worse.

She tried to think of what she would do if she was in that position, because she kind of was. Elliott always knew in the back of her mind that David was in love with her, and to be honest she might be in love with him too. But, she doesn't want to risk their whole relationship deteriorating, so she ignores it. She would rather have David in her life in some capacity than get into a relationship too soon, have it end badly and then him not be there at all, he was all she had. Maybe that's how Misty and Cordelia felt.

Speaking of David, Elliott had another issue: telling David she was being adopted. She didn't know why it made her so nervous, but it did. Elliott knew David would be happy for her, but the idea of telling him made her stomach knot. Maybe it was because she felt guilty finding a family when he never did, or maybe it was because she knew how much he was struggling right now. Part of her brain felt like she was leaving him alone when she knew she wasn't; she would always be there for him, but she did wonder if he felt like she abandoned him. Since arriving at the coven, Elliott hadn't been able to spend as much time with David as she would have liked, they both were just too busy. Things were complicated, and their schedules never seemed to line up. Elliott did her best to make sure she was talking with him every day through texts, but it wasn't the same and she knew it.

The young girl looked at the time and groaned, it was already 5pm. Elliott pulled herself from her bed and walked to the bathroom to start the shower, then went downstairs to put Max in his playpen. As she walked up the stairs she could hear the puppy behind her whimpering and she felt terrible, but just as she was about to go back and grab him Misty walked inside, picking the dog up and smiling at Elliott. Elliott smiled back gratefully and quickly hopped in the shower. Luckily, Mallory had managed to almost completely heal her incision, all that remained was a slice the thickness of a papercut, so the young girl was less worried about her movements or the risk of it getting infected.

After her shower Elliott wasted no time in getting dressed, opting for a long maxi dress Cordelia had given her a few weeks prior. Elliott normally hated dresses, mostly because she was always worried about flashing someone, but she thought her wearing it would make Cordelia smile. She was in the middle of pulling her hair into a neat Ballerina bun when she heard a knock on her door, David standing in the doorframe. "You? In a dress? Are you feeling ok?" he said, walking in and placing the back of his hand on her forehead.

"Knock it off smartass. I'm fine. How did your chemistry test go?" Elliott said, smacking his hand away with a smile.

"Surprisingly, not too bad. I mean it wasn't a great score by any means, but it will get me through. Thankfully being a chemist is not in my future." He responded with a chuckle, "But what's up? Cordelia said we were celebrating tonight. You finally go a day without ripping your stitches?"

"Ha, they wish. Ripped them today actually, but at least this time it was for a good reason." Elliott said sarcastically. Almost on cue, Max ran to Elliott's feet, Misty smiling at her from the doorway as she walked past.

David looked at her with a half-smile, "Of course you got a dog, why am I surprised? You con Cordelia into taking you to the pet store?"

"No, we found him behind the greenhouse," Elliott said as she lifted the dog onto her bed, laughing at him as he ran between her and David, falling over his own feet. "Max here got stuck under a fallen tree branch, which is how I ripped my stitches."

David laughed, "Of course you risk bleeding out for a dog. Bet they must have loved you for that."

"Oh they did, Cordelia was PISSED." Elliott said emphatically.

"I was not pissed!" Cordelia yelled from her study, walking over to Elliott's room and peeking her head in the doorway. "I was NOT pissed. I was concerned." Elliott stuck her tongue out at her and she laughed softly, "You two almost ready?"

"Yea, we'll be down in a minute." Elliott chuckled as Max almost threw himself from the bed in all his excitement. David managed to catch him and smiled as he pushed him back onto the middle of the bed. Cordelia nodded then headed downstairs, leaving the two of them alone again. "But uh yea, the celebrating part…"

David smiled at her but noticed how nervous she was. "Why you so nervous Elle?" He teased, poking her sides.

"I'm not nervous! It's just… Cordelia asked me if she could adopt me today." Elliott said, looking up at him.

David broke out in the biggest smile, which caused Elliott to smile back at him. "She what?! That's great Elle! Why were you so scared to tell me that?"

"I wasn't scared! I just know we haven't gotten to spend a lot of time together recently and it's been weird. I don't want you to think it's going to change anything." Elliott said, looking down at the dog who had tuckered himself out and was now sleeping between the two of them.

"No, Elle. This is good, of course I'm happy for you. Honestly, I'm surprised it took this long for her to ask. It was pretty obvious she was crazy about you." David said, giving a small laugh at the end.

"Did everyone realize this was going to happen before me? Apparently I'm clueless." Elliott said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Yea, you kind of are. Sorry Elle. But seriously, this is great. And don't worry about me, I'm fine. We've both been busy, it happens." David said softly, putting his arm around Elliott.

The two laughed a bit and headed downstairs to the other two women, putting Max in his playpen again. The dog immediately started whining and everyone looked at him. "I have a feeling this dog is going to get more attention than anyone else." Cordelia said chuckling, "How can we leave him when he's like this?" Everyone laughed a bit, but no one made any moves to leave, staring at each other. Finally, Cordelia laughed and looked at the dog, "Alright, takeout it is."

Delia went in search of the stack of takeout menu's the girls had acquired over the years as Elliott grabbed the dog to take him outside, reaching for the bag of toys Cordelia had bought when they went to the pet store earlier. Misty and David followed her outside and Misty sat on the porch swing while the two kids played with the dog, chuckling as they all realized the ball they had gotten was far too big for the dog to pick up, watching him instead try to grab it at it, but end up pushing it with his nose.

"You're supposed to bring it back you dweeb." Elliott laughed, watching the small dog push the ball around the yard. "Max" She said, dropping to her knees and smacking her hands on them, "Come here you goof."

By this time Cordelia had made her way outside and was watching the small dog make his way back to the girl, laughing as she watched him push the ball with his nose towards the laughing teenagers. "He might be a little goofy, but damn that dog is smart." She said, chuckling to herself as the dog finally brought the ball back, biting at Elliott's fingers as she picked it up. "You guys ok with Chinese?"

"Yea that's fine!" The two teens said in unison, looking at each other and then bursting out in laughter.

"Well come pick what you want." Cordelia said chuckling.

David made his way towards the older women and Elliott stayed back, picking up a small rope and shouting "Order me whatever!"

"Elliott you have to come pick, I don't know what you like!" Cordelia shouted back laughing.

"Neither do I! I've never had it, surprise me!" Elliott retorted as the small dog tried to pull the rope from her grasp.

"Elle, come here and look then!" Cordelia shouted back, causing the girl to huff as she picked up the small dog, rope still in this mouth as he squirmed. As she walked up the stairs the supreme asked, "You've really never had Chinese food before? What, did you survive off only burgers and pizza?"

Elliott laughed before nodding, "Pretty much. Diet of champions."

"Listen darlin', I lived in a swamp and even I've had Chinese before. This is a crime. What else haven't ya tried?" Misty said, pretending to be offended.

"I don't know, that would probably be an extensive list." Elliott said honestly.

"Well I guess that's a new challenge then, get Elliott to try something that isn't fast food." Cordelia said, causing everyone to break out in giggles. The supreme took the dog from Elliott and handed her the menu before setting the dog down and pulling on the rope a bit. "Does he not understand that he's little? I could take this from him in 2 seconds."

"Do not crush his self-esteem Dee. He's a baby, let him think he's big and strong." Misty said, the two exchanging soft smiles.

"Fine. I'll let him win for now. See anything that sounds good?" The supreme said, looking up at Elliott.

"This menu is a mess, there's a million things and none of them have a description. Who thought that was a good idea?" Elliott said, "What the hell does sesame chicken mean? Nothing, that's what."

"That's the magic of Chinese food babe. You could get the same item from 10 different places and all of them will taste completely different." Delia said, throwing the girl a playful smile.

"Well what are you getting? I'll just get the same thing, this menu is useless." Elliott said, looking at Cordelia as she handed the menu to David.

"That's not how it works sweetie," Cordelia said chuckling, "Everyone gets something different and then you share."

Elliott threw up her hands, "Well then you all pick and I'll get something you guys don't, this is too difficult for me, it shouldn't be this hard to order food."

The other three laughed and picked out their meals, Cordelia choosing vegetable lo mein, Misty kung pao beef, and David sweet and sour pork. Elliott went with the sesame chicken, which everyone laughed at given the fuss she made earlier, and Cordelia and Misty went to pick it up, leaving the two teenagers to play with the dog. It didn't take long before Max was tired out and laid down on the porch to sleep, he had a lot of energy but it was used up very quickly, and Elliott and David decided to sit on the porch swing until the two older women came back, catching up on all they missed.

"So how do you feel about Cordelia adopting you? Are you ok with it?" David asked once the conversation had lulled.

"I mean, right now yea. I don't know, I'm probably overthinking it." Elliott said honestly, causing David to raise one eyebrow.

"What are you overthinking?" He said carefully.

"I don't know, everything. I don't get it, to be honest. I've done nothing but worry everyone and get myself into trouble. I don't understand why she thinks she's going to want to put up with me for another almost two and a half years, let alone the rest of her life. It just never occurred to me that she would want that. I mean if I was to stay here she would have to put up with me anyways to a degree, but that's different, she's not actually responsible for me in the same way." Elliott said softly, looking over at the sleeping dog.

"I mean, isn't that what having kids is? Putting up with their messes? Yea if you look at it that way, why would anyone ever want to have kids? But people do it all the time. No kid is perfect, and most of the time they make their parents want to pull their hair out, but they still love them anyways." David said, causing Elliott to look back at him.

"Yea but, most people feel obligated because they gave birth to them, they're a piece of them. But adopting me is different, she doesn't owe me anything. I could understand it if I was a little kid who was cute and my biggest issue was sometimes forgetting to brush my teeth or flushing the toilet or whatever, but I'm not a little kid. I'm at the age that most parents wish they didn't have kids. She's pretty young, she could still have her own kids if she wanted." Elliott said, shifting her body so she could face David, crossing her legs.

"You're right, she doesn't have an obligation to you, she doesn't owe you anything. But isn't that what makes it even better? Sure, she probably could have her own kids if she wanted to, but she's CHOOSING you. Even though in two and a half years you could leave and never come back. That's special Elle." David said, turning to face Elliott.

"I guess. I don't know, I just keep feeling like there's something I'm not seeing, like any second this is going to fall apart and I'll be right back where I was. Or like I'll change my mind and realize I don't want this and it will be too late. It never even occurred to me that our relationship was anything like that. I don't know if I just was completely blind to it or if I was trying to avoid it or whatever, and I feel guilty because everyone else saw that she loved me and I never once stopped to think if I loved her. I don't want to take advantage of her just because I don't want to have to leave again, that's not fair, it's selfish." Elliott ranted, not stopping to actually consider the words coming out of her mouth.

"The fact that you're worried about that means you at least care about her, and that's something. You aren't selfish because you've never considered it. You have to remember how you grew up Elle. You never had a parent who loved you, except your adoptive parents and you can barely remember them. You never let yourself get attached to anyone but me or Grace. Cordelia knows that. She isn't expecting anything out of you, relationships take time to grow, you don't instantly decide you love someone in a month or two." David said, looking Elliott dead in the eyes. He knew Elliott was hard on herself always, especially when she felt like she wasn't being what everyone else wanted her to be. She always thought people expected something out of her she couldn't give.

"Well Cordelia decided already, so what does that say?" Elliott retorted.

"It says that she hasn't had the same experiences as you. She's older Elle, she's seen more shit. The more you're exposed to that kind of stuff the easier it is to figure out. She's not as guarded because she doesn't have to be. Sure she's been through some hard stuff too, but it's not the same as what YOU went through. Everyone's different and I'm sure Cordelia has some issues of her own that you haven't seen yet. Are you going to judge her because she doesn't handle it the way you do?" David asked.

Elliott shook her head as the car pulled into the driveway, causing Max to look up. "We should help them bring in the food."

The two stood and headed for the car, Max trailing behind them, running to keep up with their leisurely pace. "Misty, let me carry something before you drop it." Cordelia said chuckling as she got out of the car.

"Nah I got it, I can carry it all." Misty said, grabbing far too many bags.

"Let us help, you guys went and got the food, we can bring it in." Elliott said chuckling at the impending catastrophe in front of her, reaching for the bags in Misty's arms.

Misty shook her head and started to pull away from the girl, but caught a glare from Elliott, so she relinquished a few of the bags to her and David. "How come she doesn't have a problem with you carrying them?" Cordelia said laughing, ruffling Elliott's hair as she walked back towards the house.

"Because you're the favorite!" Elliott shouted back at her, looking over her shoulder.

Misty and Cordelia blushed before Misty shouted back, "She's not the favorite!"

"Yes she is! Now come on there's food!" Elliott yelled back from the porch, leading Max and David back inside.

Cordelia looked at Misty and chuckled, "Can't argue with that." Misty smiled back and motioned for the two of them to go back inside, trailing behind the teenagers.

The two walked inside and Elliott was already grabbing plates and silverware for everyone while David was setting up the food, the two smiling at Misty and Cordelia when they entered the kitchen. "She's not the favorite." Misty said adamantly, Elliott throwing her a knowing look. "She's not" Misty said again, walking up behind Elliott and tickling her sides, almost causing her to drop the ceramic plates in her hand.

"Hey I'm working here!" Elliott yelled back, swatting the swamp witch's hands away with her one free arm, catching Cordelia smiling. "What are you smiling at?"

"Nothing." Cordelia chuckled, shaking her head and biting her lip.

"You think this is funny? This is NOT funny. I'm just trying to grab everyone plates and silverware so we don't have to eat out of the box with our hands like SAVAGES and SOMEONE is violating my rights." Elliott teased, throwing Misty a glare.

"What rights?" Misty said emphatically, pretending to be offended.

"My right to not be tickled when I'm holding breakable things. It's in my constitution. Page 394, look it up." Elliott said sternly, causing everyone to break out in a fit of laughter.

"Did you really just use a Harry Potter reference?" David said chuckling.

"Maybe." Elliott retorted, sticking out her tongue at him.

"I've never seen Harry Potter." Misty said laughing.

"And you said me never eating Chinese was a crime. I'm offended honestly." Elliott quipped, setting down the plates and turning to Misty very seriously. "We're having a movie marathon ASAP. I won't stand for this, not in this house."

"We don't have any of the movies Elle." Cordelia interjected.

"Well then I guess we're all committing a felony because this is happening. We'll steal them from the internet." Elliott retorted.

Everyone laughed and looked at her but she didn't even break a smile, making it obvious she wasn't joking. This only caused everyone to laugh more and she shook her head in disappointment, Cordelia walking up behind her and ruffling her hair that had fallen out of its bun. "Ok my little criminal, let's eat."


	18. Chapter 18

The four of them took forever to eat dinner, Max laying at Elliott's feet the whole time surprisingly. They probably would have finished much quicker if any of them could stop talking, the room buzzing with excitement and jokes, most of them picking on Elliott, which David facilitated. He loved teasing her and making her mad. They were all finishing up when David made one last jab. "I will fling this noodle at you, don't test me David." Elliott said seriously as everyone else laughed.

"No throwing food, don't make me separate you two." Cordelia said jokingly, causing both David and Elliott to giggle.

"She wouldn't throw food anyways; she loves me too much." David quipped.

"Bet." Elliott said, placing the noodle on her fork and pretending to take aim.

"Stop it you two. I don't want to pick noodles up off the floor." Cordelia laughed.

"You wouldn't have to; Max would eat it." Elliott said, tapping the dog with her foot, causing him to look up at Cordelia, getting a chuckle out of the older woman.

After the plates were clear Elliott offered to do the dishes since the housekeeper wouldn't be in until Monday, telling David to go find the first Harry Potter film on Cordelia's laptop, to which the older woman tried to object, but eventually conceded, the other three heading to the living room. Elliott began rinsing the dishes and was about halfway through when she felt a tap on her shoulder, and expecting it to be Cordelia she said "I told you it's fine, you won't go to jail for stealing ONE movie." She flipped around to face the woman and was shocked when she saw it was Spalding. "Oh, hi. I thought you were Cordelia. What are you doing here so late?"

"Oh, I'm always around, somewhere. You run along, I can finish this. It's my job after all, cleaning up people's messes." Spalding replied in a monotone voice.

"Oh it's ok, I told them I would do it. You go home, watch a movie or something. Relax." Elliott responded, trying to seem like she wasn't at all freaked out, but the pitch of her voice gave her away. It was the same voice she used when talking to her foster parents when they were on the verge of a blowup, Spalding might not have noticed it, but Elliott sure did.

"No, you're celebrating. It's my job, and I like to work. Run along my doll." Spalding said with a wave of his hand, dismissing the girl.

Elliott wasn't going to argue, the guy already gave her the heebie jeebies. She wasn't quite sure why Cordelia would keep him around if she didn't like him, although he didn't seem to be around too much. She politely thanked him and headed for the living room where the others were, diving in between David and Cordelia, who was looking over David's shoulder as he searched for the movie. "Relax, he's not going to infect your laptop with some crazy virus or get you in trouble with the FBI Cordelia, just let him do his thing."

Cordelia rolled her eyes and nudged the girl "Oh look, someone's done with the dishes." She paused for a moment, "Elle? I think you left the water running."

Elliott looked at her and laughed "No, Spalding said he'd finish it and sent me out here."

Cordelia paused, the color slowly draining from her face as Misty looked over at Elliott, both woman questioning if they had heard right. "Who?" Cordelia asked carefully.

Elliott looked at them like they were crazy, "Spalding? The groundskeeper? Can I just say it's pretty weird that he would rather be doing dishes on a Friday night instead of like going on a date or something?"

Cordelia's face went completely pale and she looked over her shoulder towards the kitchen, where the water was still running. Misty grabbed her hand gently and squeezed. "You saw Spalding?" Misty asked, trying to keep her face and her voice casual. She didn't want to scare the girl, not with David with them.

"Yea, he's here all the time. Why?" Elliott asked, not noticing how weird the women were being.

"And he hasn't been weird, right?" Misty asked, Cordelia looking back at her. Neither of the women were oblivious to the fact that ghosts roamed the halls, especially Spalding, but he hadn't showed his face in months, not to any of the girls. Him choosing Elliott made them nervous given his history.

"I mean, Spalding is always weird, but not like anymore weird than usual." Elliott said, turning to check on David's progress.

The two women visibly relaxed, although Cordelia still was pale and out of it. Misty squeezed Delia's hand one last time and then rubbed her shoulder, trying to get her to calm down. The two teens were oblivious to it all thankfully, jumping up in excitement when they finally found what they were looking for. The two adults took an opportunity to leave while the other two set the movie up, heading upstairs to Cordelia's room and shutting the door behind them.

"Dee-" Misty began before Cordelia cut her off.

"Don't." Cordelia said harshly, the older woman pacing again. "I thought we got rid of him, or at least made it very clear he wasn't to show his face again. No one else has seen him for MONTHS, not even Mallory."

"I know-" Misty started again, only to be cut off once more.

"Why now? Why her? What does he want? I told him to stay away from the girls, ALL of them." Cordelia spewed rapidly, her thoughts racing through her mind.

"Dee, she's fine. I don't like it either, but Elle woulda' told us if something was going on." Misty said, getting a slight glare from the supreme.

"Why didn't she tell us sooner? He's been around all this time? And she hasn't ever mentioned him before? What is that about?" Cordelia continued.

"She probably didn't think anything of it Dee, it's not like anyone warned her of him, and no one is gonna bring him up." Misty said carefully, trying to calm the older witch down.

"I swear to god if he tries something with her-" Cordelia said quietly.

"We'll talk ta her about him tonight, he's not going ta lay a hand on her Dee. I promise." Misty said, stopping the older woman mid pace, forcing the supreme to look into her eyes. Cordelia nodded, taking a deep breath to calm herself before the two women made their way back downstairs, seeing the two teenagers had gotten everything up and running. "So it looks like were ready ta watch a movie!" Misty said excitedly, getting a small smile out of Cordelia as they sat back down on the couch, Cordelia wrapping an arm around Elliott protectively.

The four of them had managed to get through the first two movies no problem, but by the middle of the third David was fast asleep on the couch. "Looks like someone can't hang." Elliott said jokingly, the three women snickering before continuing to watch the film.

Right as the credits rolled Madison, Mallory and Queenie came practically bursting through the front door, obviously drunk and giggling, causing David to wake up. "I really hope a cab brought you home." Cordelia said sternly.

"Yes mom we did. Jeez, take a chill pill." Madison said sarcastically, walking towards the couch. "Eventful night I see." Elliott rolled her eyes, which Madison caught. "Hm, someone's crabby. Past your bedtime Ellie?" She quipped, putting her hand on Elliott's shoulder.

Elliott instantly had a flashback of that night in the alley, the blood quickly rushing to her ears.

Madison was pushed back practically against the wall, falling on her butt, the women in the room gasping and looking at Elliott in shock. "What the FUCK Elliott? I was joking, jesus." Madison yelled.

Elliott's face was ghostly pale, the blood still pulsing in her ears as she stood up and turned towards the angry witch. "I'm- I'm sorry. I'm going to go to bed." She said, her voice shaking. She briefly looked at Cordelia before looking back down and heading upstairs to bed, shutting her door behind her.

"What the hell was that?" Madison said angrily. Everyone but David was in shock, Elliott never lost control like that.

"Don't call her Ellie." David said quietly, turning to look at the older girl. "Thomas was the only one who ever called her that."

Madison's face dropped and she nodded her head, the room falling quiet. No one was upset with Elliott anymore, they all understood. After a few moments of silence Cordelia said, "Well, I think we should call it a night, yes?"

Everyone nodded, but no one moved. David was the first to get up, "Yea, it's time for me to head home. Thanks for letting me come over."

"You're not driving home David. It's late and you're too tired, you're staying here tonight." Cordelia replied, letting David know there wasn't room for discussion.

Even though Madison felt guilty for causing Elliott's outburst she still wasn't guilty enough to not hit on David, suggesting, "He can stay in my bed." Cordelia threw her a glare and Madison put her hands up in defense, "Relax, I was joking. Just trying to lighten the mood, jeez." The three younger girls said their goodnights and headed up to their rooms quietly, the atmosphere so tense they all had sobered up quickly.

Cordelia had gotten David settled into Fiona's old room, the only room other than hers that had its own bathroom, and she met Misty out in the hallway afterwards. "Should we go talk ta her?" Misty asked, "I don't want ta make things worse when she's already so upset."

Cordelia thought for a moment before speaking, "Well check on her, make sure she's ok and go from there I guess. I don't know, I wish I knew how to help her." As much as Elliott tried to act like she was fine, Cordelia knew the girl was still struggling, and it killed her inside. She wished Elliott would talk about it more instead of burying it, but the supreme also knew everyone handled trauma differently, and burying things was how Elliott had always gotten by.

Misty placed a comforting hand on the supreme's shoulder, "It'll just take time darlin'. She's gotta get through it in her own way, ain't nothing you can do but just love her." Cordelia nodded at her and the two walked down the hall to Elliott's room, knocking lightly on the door and getting no response. The two women stared at each other for a moment, a silent conversation on whether they should just leave her be, but Cordelia opened the door a crack. "Elle? You still awake?" Misty whispered into the dark room.

While Elliott didn't stir, the light from the hallway was enough to illuminate the girl, and Cordelia noticed that her breathing wasn't slow like it normally was when she slept, so the supreme walked in and sat on the edge of the bed, running her hands through the girl's hair.

Elliott wasn't faking being asleep, she genuinely was trying to be, but her thoughts kept racing. She was so in her own head she didn't hear the women knock or speak to her, noticing their presence only when she felt the weight of someone else on the bed, slowly opening her eyes as Cordelia stroked her hair. "Oh, hey. What's up?" she said quietly, pulling herself up into the sitting position.

"We just wanted to check on you. You feeling ok?" Cordelia said as Misty turned on the lamp in the room, giving a soft but not overwhelming glow.

"Uh, yea. Sorry about that, I didn't mean to hurt her I don't know what happened." Elliott said softly, looking down at her hands.

"Sweetie no one's mad at you, David told us that that's what Thomas used to call you, we all understand. Madison feels guilty, which might be a first for her." Cordelia said with a snicker.

"We're just worried about ya darlin." Misty said gently, sitting on her knees in front of the bed.

"I know, I'm sorry. But really, I'm doing ok, just random stuff sometimes makes me remember it." Elliott said honestly.

"Would it help if you went and talked with someone?" Cordelia asked, causing Elliott to look up at her.

"No, I don't need to talk about it. It's not that bad, really, I hate it when you guys worry." Elliott said quickly, shaking her head.

"Elle, you do need to talk about it, and you don't want to talk about it with us which is fine, but you need some help to process this and I don't know how to help you. You've bottled up a LOT of trauma and it's eating away at you. You hardly sleep, you don't like to eat, you have panic attacks. I know this stuff might be normal for you but it's not normal." Cordelia said, grabbing Elliott's hands, "Just try it for a few months. If you hate it or don't think it's helping, you don't have to go back."

Elliott thought for a moment before looking at Cordelia, "Would it make you feel better if I did?"

Cordelia let out a chuckle, of course Elliott was more worried about her than herself, that's how it always worked. While part of her wanted Elliott to want this for herself, she also knew if the choice was up to Elliott she wouldn't go, so she said, "Yes, if it helps it will absolutely make me feel better."

Elliott sat for a moment staring at her hands before she nodded, "Ok, I'll try it."

Cordelia and Misty smiled at her and were about to say something else when they heard Max whining from downstairs. The three women looked at each other and chuckled a bit before Misty got up and went downstairs to grab him, coming back up and setting him on the bed where he immediately went to Elliott and curled up on her lap. "Boy he's attached to you, I don't think he's ever going to let us leave him in that thing." Misty said with a chuckle before looking at Cordelia with questioning eyes, silently asking if they should tell Elliott about Spalding.

Cordelia took a deep breath before looking back at Elliott, who was smiling at the sleeping dog. "We actually have something else to talk to you about…" She began, causing Elliott to look back up at her and Misty.

"It's about Spalding." Misty jumped in when she caught the girls questioning glance.

"What about him?" Elliott asked casually.

"Well… Spalding is… he's dead baby." Misty said, a half grimace on her face.

Elliott looked at the two women like they were crazy, "I'm sorry, what?"

Cordelia grimaced, she hated talking about Spalding, even thinking about him sent white hot anger rushing through her veins. "Sometimes when people die, especially in this house, they become ghosts, and usually we just can't see them unless they reveal themselves. We knew he was around, but after Fiona died no one ever saw him."

Elliott looked shocked, but to be honest learning ghosts were real want the craziest thing she had witnessed in the past couple of months. "Ok…. But he's not like a bad ghost or anything right? Like he isn't going to hurt anyone?"

Cordelia and Misty shared a look, each silently asking who was going to explain this and how. Cordelia felt like it should be her, so she began, "We aren't really sure. He had a sort of obsession with dolls, which was creepy to begin with. But, when Fiona killed Madison, he took her body and kept it in his room for weeks, and we don't know exactly what he did with it. And after he died, a while later, we found a baby he had taken, a live one, but when we found him he wasn't alive anymore. We told him he wasn't to be around any of the girls anymore or to mess with them, and for a while he didn't, but he showed himself to you, and we don't know exactly why. We just want you to be careful. I don't want him to hurt you."

We aren't saying don't talk ta him, just be careful. Don't follow him anywhere and if he starts being weird or anythin' you tell us ok? We'll figure out how ta get rid of him." Misty said, placing her hand on Elliott's leg.

Elliott thought for a moment, thinking of the pet name he had used to address her earlier, "He's got a thing for dolls?"

Cordelia noticed the girl's apprehensiveness and all the hairs on her body stood on end. She looked at Elliott curiously and slowly nodded, "Yea, why?"

Elliott looked at the supreme and noticed how carefully the older woman was watching her. She didn't want to worry anyone, the dude was probably harmless, so she just shook her head, "Oh nothing, it's just weird. But Spalding has always seemed a little off, so it makes sense."

Cordelia didn't believe her for a second. "No Elle, what? Has he done something?" She said, her voice getting impossibly high, giving away her panic.

"No seriously, nothing. Relax, he hasn't done anything." Elliott said, waving her hands to try and emphasize her point. This seemed to satisfy Delia and she calmed down, but Misty wasn't convinced. She knew that Elliott was a damn good liar and would do anything to not worry the older women. However, she knew if there was actually something legitimately wrong Elliott would tell them, so she decided to just ask the young girl about it later, when the supreme wasn't around, hoping the girl would tell her.

"Ok, well that's it," Cordelia said while standing, Misty making her way towards the door after grabbing Max from Elliott's lap, "You sure you don't want to stay with me tonight?"

"Yea, seriously I'm fine. Go get some sleep, it's late." Elliott said to the supreme, shaking her head.

Cordelia rolled her eyes but kissed the girls head before she left. "Goodnight, I love you." She said as she walked out the door, her brain not registering what came out of her mouth.

"Night!" Elliott yelled after her, registering the words but choking on her own response. Misty smiled at her and shut the door. Elliott just sat in bed, dumbfounded. Cordelia just told her she loved her, and she didn't say it back. She felt the guilt from earlier rising like a tidal wave, crashing over her until she felt like she couldn't breathe. No one besides David had ever said that to her, and she honestly didn't know how to react. She tried not to think about it too hard, but as she laid down it was all she could think about, and she almost started crying, but for the life of her she couldn't figure out why. Maybe because her saying it meant that this was all very real? She didn't want to think about that, so Elliott closed her eyes and willed herself into drifting off to sleep.

Once the two women were far enough away from Elliott's door, Misty pulled Cordelia into a hug. "What?" Cordelia asked laughing, looking at the woman as she pulled away.

"What do ya mean what? You just told her ya loved her Dee, this is big!" Misty whisper yelled, breaking out into a grin.

"I did? Oh, I didn't even notice." Cordelia said softly, trying to think back.

Misty just laughed, of course this was coming so naturally to the older woman, she was perfect at everything. "Well, this is really good, I'm happy for you." Cordelia smiled softly and the two women just looked at each other, the air suddenly becoming thick with tension. All Misty wanted to do was kiss the older woman, and she caught herself staring at her lips one too many times.

Cordelia felt the same way, but something was holding her back. She was the first to break the eye contact, looking down. "Well, we should get to bed. Goodnight Misty."

Misty dropped her gaze. "Night." She said, not making a move to leave. The supreme looked up at her and smiled a half smile before heading to her room, and Misty then made her way to hers. Both women beating themselves up over the missed moment.

As Cordelia got into bed she tried rationalizing it to herself, trying to convince herself she did the right thing when her heart was screaming for her to make a move. Things were just too crazy right now for her to even entertain a relationship, her sole focus right now was on Elliott, although even that made her feel like she wasn't doing her job as supreme. Why did she always feel like she was letting everyone down? She knew being the supreme was going to completely consume her life, but she didn't realize the emotional toll it would take on her, like she was never doing enough. She had justified every sacrifice she made for these girls, giving them everything she had, and although she knew they appreciated her she just never felt like it was enough. At this rate Cordelia felt like she would never have the time to get into another relationship, ever. Was that something she was ok with? The supreme felt like she should be able to balance it all, but she was struggling. Since Elliott had come to the coven the older woman felt like she had gotten practically nothing done. Her lesson plans were half-assed and a mess, and she had completely stopped searching for other witches. But, Cordelia had never felt happier in her life, besides the whole Misty thing. She loved spending time with Elliott and the girls and she felt like she had a real connection with everyone, something she hadn't felt since she had risen. In the months prior Cordelia had practically been glued to her office chair, only coming out for the occasional dinner with the girls, she felt overwhelmed and completely alone. Was she supposed to feel that way? Was she supposed to live out her days as supreme miserable? She honestly didn't know. Cordelia pushed these thoughts from her mind and forced herself to fall asleep, willing some sort of answers in her dreams.


	19. Chapter 19

Cordelia woke up to find the sky was still dark, rolling over to briefly check the time. This was unusual, she normally slept through the night no problem, but something seemed off to her, and she couldn't quite figure out what it was. After tossing and turning for a few more moments, the supreme sat up and threw the covers off of her, getting off the bed and sliding on her slippers. She opened her bedroom door and heard nothing outside of the rain pounding the roof of the house, not even the dog. Cordelia made the rounds to check on the girls the way she normally did, and she stopped at Elliott's room last, opening the door softly and peering in. Elliott laid completely still, her chest rising and falling at a slow pace.

Cordelia was about to shut the door and go back to bed when she heard the young girl whimper from across the room, violently turning herself over then flipping back again, repeating the motion several times. While Elliott did normally thrash around a bit when she was having a nightmare, it was nothing compared to this. Cordelia waited a few moments to see if the girl was able to calm herself down, but stepped into the room once Elliott had whimpered a little louder and almost thrown herself off the bed.

Cordelia quickly made her way to the girl and sat down on the bed, holding the girl as still as she could and rubbing her back to try and wake her. It didn't work, and it only made the young girl thrash harder to get out of Cordelia's grip, rolling as far away from the edge of the bed as she could, landing on her back. Cordelia could see the tear tracks running down Elliott's face and she once again tried to wake the small girl as gently as she could, shaking the girl slightly and whispering, "Elle? You gotta wake up for me Elle." Elliott slowly opened her watery eyes and looked around rapidly before she settled down, blinking her eyes quickly to get rid of the remaining tears. "Hey, hey. It's ok, you're ok. Just relax, you're safe." Cordelia said softly, one hand gently running through Elliott's hair while the other wiped away the tracks down her face.

Once Elliott's breathing and rapid heartbeat evened out, Cordelia gently pulled the girl into a hug, Elliott gripping onto her for dear life. "You want to talk about it?" Cordelia whispered into her hair, not surprised when the girl shook her head no. Cordelia pulled back once Elliott's grip had loosened a bit and saw the girl's eyes had once again gotten watery. Whatever this dream was, it really shook her up. The supreme grabbed the girls hand and stood from the bed, pulling Elliott up with her, making her way back towards her room. Normally, Elliott would have fought back, insisting she could sleep in her own room, but she was still half asleep and not in the mood to fight, so she just quietly followed Cordelia's lead. Cordelia put Elliott in bed and kissed her on the forehead, whispering, "Goodnight love."

"Night mom." Elliott mumbled out sleepily, obviously already drifting in and out of consciousness. Cordelia's eyes got teary and she pressed another kiss to the young girl's forehead, her heart fluttering before she rounded the bed and got in on her side, falling asleep almost instantly.

The next morning Cordelia woke and was surprised to find Elliott still fast asleep next to her. Not wanting to wake the girl, Cordelia quietly tiptoed out of the room and head downstairs, grabbing a cup of coffee and sitting at the island in the kitchen and picking up a small thank you note from David, who had left for class earlier in the day. She smiled and set it back down right as Misty wandered into the kitchen. "Mornin'" Misty said softly.

"Good morning, you sleep ok?" Cordelia asked quietly. Misty nodded her head as she reached for a glass in the cabinet above her, and an awkward tension filled the room. Neither woman knew how to act, both not wanting to discuss the events from the previous night. Cordelia desperately wanted to talk with Misty about what Elliott had said to her last night, to tell her everything she was holding in, all the secrets, and her true feelings for the girl, but something was holding her back. She felt trapped by her own lies, and she hated it, it was eating her alive.

The two sat in awkward silence for a few moments before Misty tried to start a conversation, "Is Elliott still asleep?"

"Yea, I was surprised, normally she's up before I am. I didn't want to wake her though, she had a rough night and god knows she needs the sleep." Cordelia said somewhat casually.

"She had a rough night? Is she ok?" Misty asked worriedly.

"She's fine, just had another nightmare. She's in my room." Cordelia said softly, watching the worry leave the younger woman's face as she nodded. "David left already, he had class this morning. Are the other girls up?"

"Ya, they went out for breakfast. I'm surprised they could even move they were so hungover. I told them I would have some herbs ready for them when they got back." Misty said from the table, chuckling a little bit.

Cordelia offered a small laugh before the conversation lulled. Luckily Max started barking, hearing the two women downstairs, so Cordelia excused herself to take the dog outside, sitting on the porch swing with her coffee while the dog pushed his ball around the front yard.

Shortly after the three girls returned home and the dog greeted them, jumping at their legs and barking at Madison. "Ugh, why did we keep the rat again?" she said, looking at the dog in disgust, his barks obviously too loud for her.

"He's a good judge of character." Mallory quipped, getting a glare from Madison. "Hey is Elliott up?" Mallory asked, looking over at Cordelia, "We got her something."

Cordelia was about to respond when a sleepy Elliott walked outside, her eyes squinting in the sunlight. "I'm up, unfortunately." Max ran to her feet and sat staring up at her, causing everyone to chuckle. "What's up little man?" She said softly, smiling at him, causing him to jump up and run around in excitement.

The three girls in the yard walked towards the house, "We have something for you, we'll be in the greenhouse with Misty, come find us." Mallory said as she passed the girl, the three walking into the house while Madison groaned about her hangover.

"You sleep ok?" Cordelia asked once the two were alone.

"Yea, how did I end up in your room?" Elliott responded, obviously confused.

"You had a nightmare last night. You were out of it the whole time, so I figured you wouldn't remember." Cordelia said, secretly hoping the girl would remember the past nights events.

"I don't even remember waking up." Elliott said, seeming to accept Cordelia's explanation. "Was he whining the whole night?" she asked, gesturing towards the dog who had once again taken an interest in his ball.

"Not that I heard, I was half expecting you to take him to bed with you." Cordelia joked.

"I can only be peed on a certain amount of times before it's just too much." Elliott joked back, heading back inside to grab some treats for the dog then coming to sit on the swing with the supreme.

"David left already, he left a note." Cordelia said softly, to which Elliott nodded.

"Yea, he had an early class, I'm surprised he stayed as late as he did." Elliott said softly, catching the dog going to the bathroom in the yard out of the corner of her eye. She got up and headed over to him, giving him a treat once he was done.

"Elle, you can't just give him a treat for going to the bathroom, he's going to think he gets one every time he does." Cordelia laughed.

"Positive reinforcement!" Elliott yelled back, "He gets a treat whenever he goes to the bathroom outside, but not inside, so he learns to go outside. It's psychology."

Elliott walked back to the porch swing and sat down, sticking her tongue out at the supreme, who giggled. "But then he's just going to think he gets a treat whenever he goes to the bathroom Elle, that's not training him." Cordelia said, poking Elliott's side.

"No it is, right now he's little and he's going to go to the bathroom inside still, but he's going to learn if he goes outside he'll get a treat. Then once he's older and can actually handle exclusively going to the bathroom outside, you give him a treat when he goes outside but you punish him when he goes inside, and once he actually starts going to the bathroom outside regularly and doesn't have accidents, you decrease the treats over time until he just does it on his own without reward." Elliott explained, smacking away the supreme's hand.

"So by the time he learns to go outside he'll be 100 pounds?" Cordelia joked.

"He will not be 100 pounds Delia. We have to give him an incentive to go outside, he's not going to learn it on his own. Then you replace the incentive, so instead the reward is not getting punished. Jesus have you never had a dog before?" Elliott said incrediously.

Cordelia shook her head and laughed, "I haven't. Fiona hated animals. When I took over the academy I got a cat just because I knew she hated them and wouldn't come around. It worked."

"She didn't want to risk getting cat hair on her Chanel suit," Elliott joked, "I don't blame her."

"When did you have a dog?" Cordelia asked, curious.

"My dad was a vet, so we fostered dogs for a while. I don't remember much, but I do remember us out in the yard training them so they could find good homes. Then a few of my foster parents had dogs they hated, they didn't want to take the time to train them so I did. There are no bad dogs, just bad owners." Elliott said softly, grimacing at the last part, remembering an old memory.

"What?" Cordelia asked, looking at her face.

"Oh, nothing. A guy I used to stay with ran a dog fighting ring. He used to get mad at me because I would train the dogs and they weren't aggressive anymore. It was bad for business. Once I found another place to stay I left an anonymous tip and he was arrested for it, but a lot of the dogs had to be put down, even though they weren't actually aggressive. It just sucks." Elliott said softly, looking out into the yard.

Cordelia got teary eyed as Elliott told the story, but offered her a sad smile and squoze her hand as she finished. As much as Cordelia liked to think she knew of Elliott's past, there was a large chunk she had no idea about because the girl had ran away. A whole 5 years her files didn't cover, and Cordelia shuddered when she thought of all the girl had gone through in that time. She was glad Elliott was more open to talking about it now, a month ago a conversation like this never would have happened. "I called and made you an appointment with a therapist, Dr. Halpburn. She'll come by tomorrow at 3, I know how much you LOVE to leave the house." The supreme joked, getting a smile out of the girl and lightening the mood. While most of the therapists in the area where predominately men, Cordelia wasn't oblivious to the fact that Elliott had an aversion to almost all men except for David. She had picked up on it over the last few times the girl had gone shopping with her, with the girl often times choosing to stand behind Delia when there was a male cashier, not making conversation and staring at the floor. It didn't surprise her, most of Elliott's trauma that the supreme knew of had come at the hands of the men in her life, so she really didn't blame her.

Elliott nodded and thanked her, then looked past Cordelia's shoulder and laughed. The supreme turned to see what she was laughing at and spotted Max at the steps, desperately trying to push his ball up the stairs, but not succeeding. The two watched him for a minute while he struggled, trying to lift the ball with his nose but just running into the bottom step over and over again. "Alright, you're going to give yourself a concussion if you don't stop." Elliott laughed, getting up from the swing and making her way towards the dog. She moved to pick the ball up but Max quickly pushed it away from her, shielding it with his little body. "What? I can't have it now? How is this fair?" She moved to grab the ball again and the dog pushed it away from her again, running with it a few feet away, then stopping to look at her again. "Oh so this is what we're doing huh? Keep away? Really?"

Cordelia laughed as the girl chased the dog around the yard for a few minutes, taking in Elliott's laughter as if it were her favorite song. She discreetly pulled out her phone and took a short video of the encounter, wanting to capture the moment, then slid it away as Elliott stopped chasing after the dog. "Fine, it's yours. I won't help you, you stubborn ass." She walked back up to the porch and sat down again, winded. "I think we found a game he's actually good at." Cordelia chuckled as the dog pushed the ball back to the first step, trying once again to get it up the stairs. "Nuh uh, I'm not helping you anymore. I tried and you decided to give me some cardio. I'm out."

"But look at him Elle, he's so small. You can't just leave him like that!" Cordelia joked, giving Elliott her best puppy dog eyes.

"Then you help him. I'm too out of shape for that." Elliott joked back, pointing towards the stairs as Max managed to lift the ball onto the second step. "See? He's building character."

Elliott stood up and walked toward the dog, who then ran out into the yard and went to the bathroom again. "Huh, I guess you might be 100 pounds by the end of this." Elliott said sarcastically, giving him another treat as Cordelia chuckled.

"He's a fast learner." Cordelia said with a smile, standing up, empty coffee mug in hand, and heading towards the door.

Elliott picked him up and his ball and headed back towards the door to meet her. Right as the two stepped inside Cordelia's phone started buzzing, and she quickly excused herself to answer it, heading to her study. Elliott put Max in his pen and fed him, then made her way out to the greenhouse where the rest of the women were. She walked in, still in her pj's and was greeted by a condescending Madison saying "Do I really have to drink this shit? Isn't there like a spell or something we can do?"

"I mean, if ya want ta fix that wicked hangover ya do. Your choice Maddie." Misty said pointedly, making the other women giggle. "Hey Elle, you sleep ok?"

Elliott nodded and made her way over to the other women, looking at the drink in Madison's hand and grimacing. "Ew, what is that?"

"It looks bad but it works, just some herbs ta take the edge off. They wouldn't have to drink it if they weren't stupid last night. What 22 year olds get hangovers?" Misty said saracastically.

"Stupid ones." Elliott joked, getting joking glares from the three hungover women.

"Come on, like you've never had a hangover?" Madison joked, but Elliott just shook her head no. "Seriously?" Madison asked, not believing the girl for a second.

"I've never drank." Elliott said honestly, getting stares from everyone in the room.

"You've never drank? At all? I don't believe that for a second." Madison said sarcastically. Elliott just stared at her for a second, proving she wasn't kidding. "Why?" Madison asked.

"Because I spent a lot of time with alcoholic foster parents, you learn to steer clear of that shit." Elliott said honestly, trying to make it seem like a joke as to not bring down the room.

Everyone was quiet for a moment before Madison said, "Well I guess tonight is your lucky night. We're getting you drunk."

"Maddie-" Misty began seriously.

"Come on, everyone has to get drunk at least once before they can actually drink. And Elliott needs something fun for once. It's not like I'm going to drag her to a frat party… yet." Madison said, giving a smirk at the end. "It's a rite of passage, and she'll be here with us."

Misty was about to object again, but Queenie and Madison's phones vibrated. "Why the fuck are we having an emergency council meeting? What could possibly be going wrong on a Saturday?" Madison said, rolling her eyes. Misty and Elliott shook their heads as Madison scoffed before leaving, "No rest for the wicked I guess."

The three remaining women snickered as Madison left, the glass of herbs still in her hand. "Ooo yea we went to the mall earlier and got something for you! Hold on!" Mallory said as she started digging through her purse, pulling out a small box. Elliott looked at her confused but grabbed the box from her, opening it to see a locket inside. "Open it!" Mallory said excitedly.

Elliott unclasped the locket and looked inside, a picture of her and David on one side and a picture of Max on the other. Her eyes started getting teary and she looked up at Mallory and smiled, "It's beautiful, thank you." She moved to hug Mallory and the girl embraced her happily, shaking her back and forth a bit.

"It was Madison's idea actually. She thought it would be nice to always have them with you. Look at the back!" Mallory scream whispered in her ear. Elliott pulled away and flipped the locket over, the back inscribed "Elliott Daniels-Goode". While Elliott was never one to get overly emotional, she had tears running down her face and Mallory pulled her into another hug. "Cordelia told us, not that any of us were shocked, we just thought it would be a nice touch."

Elliott pulled back and smiled at the girl, who was grinning ear to ear, and thanked her again, to which Mallory waved it off. The two women helped Elliott put it on, Misty holding her hair up while Mallory clasped it around her neck, both stepping in front of her to admire it. "It looks good babe. Silver is definitely your color." Misty said, getting teary eyed herself.

Elliott was at a loss for words, the gift was beautiful. "How did you get the pictures?" She asked, trying to think of something to say.

"We took the picture of Max this morning, boy does that dog know how to pose for the camera, it was like a photoshoot." Mallory joked, "And I texted David asking for a picture, which he sent me like a million. We asked him about the name too, because we weren't sure if you would be ok with it, but he told us to go ahead."

Elliott laughed, of course David was in on it. Honestly, she was surprised this whole thing was Madison's idea. While Elliott knew the girl cared about her, at least in her own way, she never thought the older girl paid that much attention to her, or even thought about stuff like this. Madison just always seemed to be concerned with herself, but this made Elliott think of her a little bit differently. The three women chatted for a bit before Mallory made her way back towards the house, leaving Elliott and Misty by themselves.

"Hey Elle?" Misty began, "I wanted ta ask you about last night."

Elliott looked at her and nodded apprehensively, not knowing what the woman was going to ask her about, "Shoot."

"When we were talkin' about Spalding, you got this look on your face like somethin' was wrong. I know you told Cordelia it was nothin', but it didn't seem like nothin'." Misty said softly, watching the girl's face as it fell slightly.

"Oh, that. It's probably nothing. Don't worry about it." Elliott said, hoping the older woman would accept her response.

"No Elle, what? Did he do somethin'?" Misty said, her blood starting to rush.

"No, he didn't really do anything. I don't know, he's just creepy. He called me his little doll last night, which it's probably nothing, just a pet name or whatever." Elliott said, trying to brush off the situation.

Misty nodded softly, "Just, if anything else happens or if he does it again, you let me know ok?" She knew why Elliott didn't tell Cordelia, the supreme would've lost her shit and probably would have tried to get rid of him immediately, and Misty didn't really blame her. It was becoming obvious he had showed himself to Elliott for a reason, but no one could figure out what that reason was. It was suspicious, and Cordelia and Misty were especially protective of the young girl, she had already been through too much.

Elliott nodded softly and took an interest in the plant next to her, staring at it curiously. "Misty, there's something in this plant."

Misty looked confused but walked over to look inside the big pot, bursting out in laughter. "Oh look, we got a baby possum!"

"THAT'S what that thing is? It looks like a naked rat." Elliott said, her face looking disgusted.

"It does." Misty said, nodding in agreeance, "He's harmless though, let's leave him be."

"You want to tell Cordelia we now have a dog AND a pet possum? She would die inside." Elliott joked.

"Nah, I'm not gonna tell her anythin'. Wanna scare her with it?" Misty said, looking mischievously at Elliott. Elliott smirked and nodded, she loved a good prank. The two continued to work for a few moments in silence before Misty turned to her. "You really gonna get drunk with Maddie tonight?"

Elliott looked at her and laughed a bit, "I don't know, maybe. Are you going to rat me out?"

"You know if Cordelia finds out and she figures out I knew about it she's going ta be pissed. I'm not advocatin' underage drinkin', but I know ya aren't stupid either. I'm headin' ta the swamp later for more mud after dinner, and I'm not goin' ta say anything before then." Misty said, Elliott catching on to her not so subtle hints.

"So basically, she's going to find out either way, so I might as well be drunk when she yells at me." Elliott said with a smirk, Misty laughing.

"Just be careful darlin' that's all. We don't need ya puking everywhere again." Misty joked, gently shoving Elliott with her shoulder.

A few minutes later Cordelia wandered into the greenhouse, looking obviously worried. "Everythin' alright?" Misty asked cautiously.

Cordelia tried to put on her best poker face, not wanting to worry the women before they knew anything. "Yea, one of the boys from the other school got into a fight with his parents and stormed off, no one has seen him since."

Elliott looked up at the woman, "I mean, he's probably fine, just needed some time to cool off, right?"

Cordelia apprehensively nodded and walked toward the girl, "Whatcha working on?"

"Just getting some herbs," Elliott made eye contact with Misty, a silent conversation, "Hey, can you get me some from that plant over there?" she asked innocently, pointing towards the plant.

"That one?" Cordelia asked, pointing towards the plant, Elliott nodding back to her without looking up from her work. The supreme made her way across the room and bent down to pick some leaves towards the bottom, moving a bigger leaf then shrieking and jumping back as the two other women burst into laughter. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!" she screamed.

"Hey, watch your language missy." Elliott quipped, getting a glare from the supreme. "THAT is a baby possum."

"Get rid of him." Cordelia said coldly, refusing to even look in the direction of the plant.

"Aw, I was hoping you would let me keep him." Elliott said sarcastically.

Cordelia bit her lip and stared at the girl with wide eyes, not amused by the antics. Misty laughed at her again and she broke, a smile creeping in at the corners of her mouth. "Not funny." She said, trying her hardest to keep a straight face.

"Then why are you smiling?" Elliott retorted.

"Did you two plan this?" Cordelia asked, pretending to be angry but failing.

"Maybe." Misty replied, smiling mischievously at Elliott, who smiled back.

Cordelia walked behind Elliott and tickled her sides, causing the girl to jump. "Listen, I love you, but are you going to want to keep every animal you find?"

"Just wait til I take her ta the swamp, she'll be asking ta keep a pet alligator." Misty joked.

"Not every animal, just most of them." Elliott said sarcastically, making the other women snicker.

"She is NEVER going to the swamp, Misty. I don't need her trying to play with alligators and becoming their food. I won't identify parts of her at the morgue." Cordelia said, only half joking.

"Wait, don't I get a say in this? I want to play with the alligators." Elliott said seriously, causing Misty to smirk and Cordelia to chuckle.

"Uh oh, she's starting to take after you, I'm in trouble." Cordelia joked, smiling softly at Misty.

"I'm not taking after ANYONE, alligators are cool. It's just a fact." Elliott said pointedly.

"I'm definitely taking ya, you'll love Stevie." Misty said excitedly.

"You named an alligator Stevie?" Elliott joked, Cordelia snickering behind her.

"Yes. I did. Is that an issue?" Misty asked.

Elliott held her hands up in defense, "No, not an issue, just an interesting choice."

"Dee, did you see her locket?" Misty asked, changing the subject.

"Oh, yea. The girls got it for me." Elliott said, turning to face the supreme. Cordelia took the locket in her hand and looked at it, chuckling when she opened it and saw the photos. "It was Madison's idea." Elliott said, smiling a bit.

Cordelia looked shocked, "Madison? Our Madison? Is she feeling ok?"

The three girls laughed as Madison walked into the room, "Hey, I have good ideas sometimes, I'm not JUST a selfish bitch."

Cordelia dropped the locket and turned to face her. "Well at least you can admit it." She joked, getting an eye roll from the girl.

"Whatever. The other school called, said they're filing a missing person's report, thought you should know." Madison snarked, the mood of the room falling to a somber silence.

Cordelia nodded softly but said nothing, her distress written on her face. Misty was the first to break the tension, "Let's go inside and get some lunch, yea?"

The women headed inside and Elliott went to shower, taking off her necklace and remembering that Cordelia never looked at the back. She would have to show her later, maybe it would make her feel better.

The rest of the day was somber and uneventful, Cordelia choosing to spend most of her time in her study on the phone with the headmaster of the other school. Elliott tried to not bother her, she knew this was important, but when dinner rolled around she decided to approach the study, thinking Cordelia needed a break. When she heard silence on the other side of the door she knocked softly. "Come in." Cordelia said.

Elliott pushed open the door and saw the supreme leaned over her desk, her fingers rubbing her temples, obviously stressed. "Hey, you coming down for dinner?" she asked softly, offering the supreme a small smile.

Cordelia looked up and gave a soft smile in return. "Yea," she said, standing from her desk and walking towards the girl, grabbing the girls outstretched hand "Let's head down?"

The two headed down and sat at the table, the others already busy chattering. Madison had all but pulled Elliott next to her, on the opposite end from the supreme. Cordelia was already engaged in conversation with the other girls, so Madison whispered, "So are we doing it? I went to the store and got basically everything."

"I don't think it's a good idea, she's already stressed as-is." Elliott whispered back, looking towards Cordelia.

"So we won't get caught. Come on Elle, live a little. You're always worried about what's going on with everyone else. Do something for YOU." Madison whispered at a slightly louder volume, causing Queenie to look over at them, silently telling them to be quiet.

"She's going to find out. You really think Misty isn't going to tell her?" Elliott retorted.

"Oh I forgot Misty had a thing for her." Madison said with a sigh, "So what? She'll be more upset with us than you, and to be honest right now it will probably be a welcome distraction. We're doing it after dinner."

Elliott sighed and rolled her eyes, but nodded. Madison was right, Elliott was always worried about what everyone thought of her, and it was annoying. But a small part of her was worried that if she got caught, Cordelia wouldn't want her anymore. She knew it was stupid, kids drank all the time, but still. She was trying to stay out of trouble, not get into more. What if this was the final straw?

Elliott pushed the thought away and the two women tried to engage in the conversation the other girls were having, Misty telling the girls about their prank earlier. Everyone laughed, including Cordelia, and Elliott took notice that the supreme's mood had definitely lifted, so she started to feel less guilty. Suddenly everyone was telling funny stories about Cordelia, to which she laughed at good naturedly. Scaring the supreme seemed to be a common thing, and Elliott laughed at the stories of all of their pranks, giving her ideas for further ones.

Dinner ended and the girls started leaving the table, Elliott catching Misty's arm before she walked away, whispering, "Take her with you to the swamp." Misty looked at her knowingly and shook her head. "Come on, I'm not saying take her because of the drinking, we probably won't even do it tonight. She needs the distraction; she's had a rough day. Let her play with the alligators."

Misty cracked a small smile and laughed before nodding, "Fine, I'll try. But you and I both know she won't go near those alligators."

Elliott laughed as Misty walked toward the supreme, overhearing their conversation.

"Misty- I can't, there's too much going on." Cordelia said softly.

"Come on, please Dee? I can't drive and the girls are busy." Misty replied, practically begging the supreme.

"I would if I could-" Cordelia began.

"Dee, you need a break. It's two hours' tops. Please?" Misty responded, and without looking Elliott knew she was giving the supreme a puppy dog face.

There was a moment of silence and Elliott turned to look at the two of them, the supreme nodding and a grin breaking out on Misty's face. Elliott laughed softly to herself and reached for the dog, taking him outside.

Elliott played with the dog until after the two women had left, giving him far too many treats for going potty outside. The dog seemed to catch on quickly, which surprised Elliott, maybe potty training him wouldn't be so hard.

Madison walked out on the porch, her heels tapping against the wood, "Come on loser, let's go!" Elliott turned to glare back at her but picked up the Dog and took him with her, following Madison out into the greenhouse.

"Cordelia's not even here, why are we out here and not inside?" Elliott asked, setting the dog down.

"Tradition. We always drink out here. It's not even that hot anyway, stop whining." Madison replied.

"Girl I haven't been drinking out here in forever, this brings back a lot of BAD memories." Queenie joked, making everyone else giggle.

"Not my fault you can't handle your booze." Madison snarked.

"Not my fault you drink like a heavyweight. Elliott, do NOT try to keep up with her unless you want us to carry you back." Queenie responded, shaking her head.

"I still think this is a bad idea." Mallory said, shaking her head.

"Of course you do goody two shoes. It will be fine, we just gotta hope Elle can handle herself enough to not get us all killed tonight." Madison responded, rolling her eyes.

"Fat chance of that." Elliott joked as Madison pulled out a bottle, setting it on the table and grabbing a shot glass.

"Ok," Madison said as she filled a glass, "You're up virgin. Your first drink always has to be a cheap shot, so take this."

Elliott grabbed the glass from the girl, catching a whiff and grimacing at the clear liquid. "What is it?" She asked.

"Bottom shelf vodka. It's going to burn like a bitch, but nothing else will hurt much after that. Bottoms up." Madison responded, flicking upwards with her finger for emphasis.

Elliott took a deep breath and took the shot, coughing as it went down her throat, causing everyone else to laugh. "That's fucking terrible. Why do people do this shit?"

"To get slammed in record time." Queenie responded, "Give the girl a chaser, damn."

"No, it's the rule. She's got to really feel this one to appreciate everything else." Madison responded, pushing away the liter of coke sitting next to her. "How do you feel?"

"Like I just drank battery acid." Elliott responded, still choking from the burning in her throat that had yet to cease.

"Good." Madison responded.

Once the burning had ceased Madison filled all the shot glasses, this time with a brown liquid, handing them off to the rest of the girls while they chatted. "This one's whiskey. It's a lot easier, I didn't buy the cheap shit."

The four of them clinked their glasses and through the shot back, and Elliott laughed at the faces they all pulled. Madison was right, this one went down easier, and while the others reached for the liter of coke Elliott just sat there. "You don't need a chaser? Damn you're tough." Queenie said as she tried to hand the liter to Elliott, who shook her head.

"And you don't have a gross shot face? This isn't fair." Mallory said laughing.

"Well, looks like at least one of you can hang. Guess you're my new best friend." Madison said sarcastically, Elliott rolling her eyes.

"That one wasn't that bad." Elliott said laughing. She was starting to feel different, but she couldn't quite put her finger on how, she just felt good.

"Alright, let's give her a break, we aren't trying to get her totally trashed tonight." Mallory said, causing Madison to roll her eyes.

Meanwhile, Misty and Cordelia had made it to the swamp, Misty gathering swamp mud while Cordelia stood by her, looking around her feet for any signs of an alligator or snake. "You're fine Dee. I won't let any of them near ya." Misty joked.

Cordelia glared at her, "Why couldn't you just let me wait in the car?"

"Cause I wanted ya here with me," Misty said, catching herself before finishing, "You being freaked out is funny."

Cordelia caught on to the first part of the comment and looked up, her heart beating rapidly. She tried to laugh softly, but it came out as more of a strangled huff, her breath caught in her throat. Why did being around the swamp witch make her feel this way? Suddenly she felt like she was in high school again. "I don't like snakes, or bugs, or anything that's probably out here. God knows what that is."

Misty snickered, then jumped up when Cordelia squealed. "What?!"

"The grass just moved over there!" Cordelia yelled, moving behind Misty.

"Yea Dee, go ahead, use me as your human shield, that's fine." Misty said sarcastically, "It was probably a mouse." Misty leaned back down and grabbed the full jar from the ground. "I've got what I need, we can go, you can stop squealing now."

Cordelia glared at the witch but didn't move, wanting the other woman to go in front of her. Misty took her hand and started guiding her back, electricity moving between the women at their joined palms. They stopped for a moment, Misty looking at the ground in front of them. "What?" Cordelia asked.

Misty didn't say anything for a moment, just stood there staring, and Cordelia peeked her head around the younger woman to look, spotting an alligator lying in front of them. She shrieked, causing the sleeping alligator to open its eyes, and Misty laughed. "Relax, that's Stevie." She said, looking at the older woman while she reached in her bag, throwing the object towards the gator, then walking towards it.

"Misty don't, come back here!" Cordelia whispered loudly, reaching to grab the woman.

"She's fine Dee. She won't hurt me. You I'm not so sure." Misty joked, causing the woman to step even farther back. She leaned down and rubbed the alligator's snout, to which the gator closed her eyes, causing Cordelia to let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding and chuckle a little bit, embarrassed. "Now come on, let's go before it gets dark and the real gators come out."

Cordelia walked toward the woman but made sure to step around the alligator, grabbing Misty's hand. The two made it back to the car and once inside Misty started laughing, Cordelia visibly relaxing into her seat. "What?" She said, looking towards the woman with wide eyes.

"Nothin'. It's just cute how scared you get." Misty said, still chuckling.

Cordelia blushed and rolled her eyes, butterflies in her stomach. "That's NOT cute."

Misty just shook her head and laughed as Cordelia put the car in drive and took off, practically speeding away. The two woman chatted and Misty noticed Cordelia's white knuckle grip on the steering wheel was starting to loosen the farther they got away from the swamp, the older woman relaxing.

"Elliott's probably going to want to watch more Harry Potter tonight, she seemed pretty adamant that we finish it. Why on god's green earth would you tell her you've never seen it?!" Cordelia said laughing.

"She's probably not going to want to do anything but go to bed if Maddie got to her Dee." Misty chuckled, causing Cordelia to look at her.

"What do you mean? What's Madison going to do?" The supreme asked.

"She wanted to get Elle drunk, apparently she's never drank before." Misty said casually.

"She's trying to get her DRUNK? She's 15! Why would you let me go to the swamp with you?!" Cordelia asked, the pitch in her voice rising.

"Because ya needed a break Dee, you've been stressed out all day. And Elle said it probably wasn't goin' to happen anyways, at least not tonight." Misty responded, trying to calm the older woman down.

"Why didn't you tell me about this?" Cordelia asked, her voice not lowering.

"I just did." Misty said, noticing that the supreme's speed was increasing.

Back at the house, the girls had taken a few more shots and Elliott was definitely feeling it, rapidly texting David about what was going on.

"You drunk texting already? Damn girl it isn't even 10 yet." Queenie said snickering.

Elliott looked up at her and tried to look serious, but mostly just looked drunk, causing the girls to laugh. "I am not drunk texting, I don't have anyone to drunk text. I'm just texting David."

"So you ARE drunk texting." Madison joked, getting a glare from the younger girl. "Ok, one more shot, saved the best for last." She said, making the other girls groan.

"What? What is it?" Elliott asked, looking at Mallory.

"Tequila, Maddie's favorite. We all hate it." Mallory answered, rolling her eyes.

"Tequila makes your clothes come off. Might be good for Elle and her boytoy." Madison said, winking at Elliott, who just rolled her eyes in return.

"You do realize I'm 15 right?" Elliott said sarcastically.

"Yea, you really think 15 year olds aren't fucking? God, you're SO out of touch." Madison responded.

Elliott just shook her head as the older girl poured the shots and took out salt and lime slices, looking around for Max only to see him sleeping under a potted plant.

"Alright, lick the back of your hand." Madison said, holding the salt shaker.

"Why?" Elliott asked, looking confused.

"Just do it." Madison responded, and Elliott did as she was told, the older witch sprinkling salt on her hand after she was done and having her hold onto the lime slice in the same hand. "Ok, this is a double shot, so be careful. Lick the back of your hand, take the shot, then as soon as you swallow bite the lime. Got it?"

Elliott nodded as the other girls got themselves ready, all of them grimacing except Madison. "You ready?" Mallory asked, a fake smile on her face.

Elliott nodded again and the three clinked their glasses together, licking the salt then downing the shot. Elliott forgot about the lime however and started coughing, her throat burning. "God damnit, you said you had it. Guess we just have to do another one." Madison said, barely hiding the excitement from her face.

She made Elliott do another double shot, and by the time the other girls had put the bottles away, Elliott was definitely hammered, watching through the foggy windows as Cordelia pulled into the driveway. "Shit." Elliott whispered under her breath.

Madison looked at her and walked over with the coke. "It's fine, just drink this, it'll cover up the alcohol on your breath. Stay here while we go inside and work on some plants or something, SEATED. And if she comes in here just act natural, don't say any more than you have to. Otherwise, just stay here til you start to sober up." Madison said, kissing her cheek and then leaving her alone in the greenhouse while the other girls ran inside before Cordelia got there. Elliott sighed and stumbled over to a nearby plant on the table, sitting down and staring at it.

The girls had managed to make it back inside before the women had even gotten out of the car, each going to a different room and trying to act natural. Cordelia tried to calm herself down before heading inside, taking deep breaths and casually walking through the door, entering the kitchen and grabbing a glass of water. "Hey, how was the swamp?" Mallory said from the counter, looking up at the older woman.

"Fine, I met Misty's alligator." Cordelia said, laughing at the end as Misty trailed into the kitchen behind her.

"Bet that must have gone over real well." Mallory snickered, getting a slight smirk from Misty.

"Actually, it did." Misty said, causing Cordelia to look up at her. Normally none of the girls would have tried to cover for the supreme, finding any excuse to mercilessly tease her. Misty just offered the supreme a soft but knowing smile, right now she didn't think the older woman could handle the teasing.

"Ha, ok." Mallory scoffed knowingly, then took an interest in her phone. The younger girl normally would have left the room, but she didn't want to risk stumbling and alerting the supreme, so she stayed put.

"How was everything here? Quiet night?" Cordelia asked suspiciously. Mallory just nodded but didn't look up from her phone, something Delia took note of. "Where is everyone?" Cordelia asked again, trying to get Mallory to say something.

"Oh, they're around somewhere. I don't know." Mallory said, hoping the supreme didn't notice her words slurring slightly at the end. Cordelia luckily didn't seem to notice, but Misty did, eyeing the young girl knowingly.

Cordelia went in search of the other girls, finding Queenie in her room. She knocked on the doorframe lightly right as all of the girls got a group text from Mallory, "I think she knows, act cool."

"What's up?" Queenie asked, looking at the supreme. For once, Queenie was the least drunk of all of them, choosing to sit out on a couple shots.

"Not a whole lot, just got back. Do you know where Madison is?" Cordelia asked softly, trying to hide the edge in her voice.

"I think she got in the shower? She should be done soon." Queenie responded casually, causing the supreme to raise one eyebrow. Normally Queenie wouldn't hesitate to take a jab at the other girl, the fact that she didn't was kind of alarming.

While Cordelia and Queenie were talking, Misty went in search of Elliott, finding her in the greenhouse at the worst possible time. The final shot had just kicked in and Elliott was sitting at the table, her head in her hands, willing the room to stop spinning. "You ok?" Misty asked, making the girl jump.

"Yea, tired." Elliott lied as she checked her phone, seeing the message from Mallory and starting to panic. She took a drink of the water bottle Madison had left her and tried her best to act natural, Misty raising her eyebrows.

"Ya sure?" Misty asked again, causing Elliott to throw her a drunken glare. "That's what I thought." She said as she walked over and picked up a sleeping Max. "I'm goin' to take him inside. Drink that bottle of water please. Cordelia will be out here in a few minutes unless I can stall her. I'm goin' to try to make her take the dog outside with me, you might wanna sneak in and go to bed."

Elliott nodded and reached for the bottle of water as Misty made her way back inside, passing the supreme. "Oh, you find Elliott?" she said.

"She's in the greenhouse workin' on plants. I'm gonna take the dog out. Ya wanna go with me?" Misty said, trying to buy Elliott some time.

"No I think im going to go talk to her, the girls are being weird, somethings up." Cordelia said, looking up at Misty.

"She seemed fine, she said she was gonna go ta bed in a few. Come on with me." Misty tried again, reaching to grab Delia's hand.

Cordelia eyed her curiously but took her hand anyways, letting her lead her outside. The two sat on the steps while the dog ran around in front of them, more interested in their feet than going to the bathroom. "It's a nice night." Cordelia said softly.

"Yea it is, I used ta love nights like these." Misty agreed.

"Used to?" Cordelia asked.

"Yea, when I lived in the swamp. I didn't have air conditionin' so I lived for these cooler nights." Misty answered honestly.

Cordelia nodded softly and stared out at the night sky. With all the lights in New Orleans, it was rare to have a night where you could actually see the stars, but that night they lit up the sky. "Thanks for taking me with you tonight. I had a really good time." She said softly as the Cajun looked at her.

Misty snorted a bit, "Ya did not. You were screamin' Dee."

Cordelia pretended to look offended, "You said I did WELL."

"I lied" Misty said laughing.

Cordelia rolled her eyes, "You know what I mean, it was a good distraction. Thank you, jeez."

"Do ya think that boy is ok?" Misty asked, changing the subject.

Cordelia looked down at her hands, "I don't know, I hope so."

Misty nodded and paused for a second, looking at the woman, "What's been goin' on with you lately?"

Cordelia looked up at her confused. "What do you mean? I'm fine."

"No Dee, ya ain't. You've been stressed and weird ever since I got back, somethin's not right. What's going on with you?" Misty asked, turning to look the supreme in the eyes. Cordelia looked away from Misty's gaze, and after a moment Misty quietly asked, "Is it me? I know you and Elliott have been talkin' and I don't wanna bother ya- "

Cordelia jerked her head up to look at the younger woman. "No," she said, "It's not you, good god it's not you. It's…" she trailed off, biting her lip.

"It's…?" Misty asked, trying to will the supreme to talk to her.

"it's Elliott." Cordelia said, looking away to try and suppress her tears.

"What about Elliott?" Misty asked, taking the supreme's hand in her own, "Is there somethin' wrong?" Cordelia shook her head, still refusing to look at the older woman. "Dee, look at me."

Cordelia took a deep breath and turned towards the woman, tears brimming in her eyes. Misty looked concerned and confused, and all Cordelia wanted to do was kiss her, but she couldn't, not until Misty knew. "I'm Elliott's birth mom…" Misty's eyes went wide in shock, and before she could even ask the question Cordelia finished, "She doesn't know." Cordelia looked down at the sleeping dog at their feet, willing away the tears that were starting to fall. "I should've told her by now, I know. But I didn't want her to hate me, so I didn't."

"She's not gonna hate you Dee, who could ever hate ya?" Misty began, causing Cordelia to look back up at her. Misty wiped away the supreme's tears before saying, "But you do have ta tell her, before she finds out on her own. She's gonna find out."

Cordelia nodded and then laughed softly, looking down. "How am I so fucking stupid?" She whispered under her breath.

"You are NOT stupid Dee, you're the smartest person I know. Don't say that." Misty responded, pulling Cordelia's chin up to look her in the eyes.

"I am Misty. I can't do anything right, not with Elliott, not with you, not even as the fucking supreme! I just keep fucking up and I don't know how much more I can take." Cordelia said honestly, tears threatening to fall once again.

"Dee, you're an amazin' supreme, and ya take damn good care of Elliott. That girl ADORES ya." Misty began, getting cut off by Cordelia.

"People are going MISSING, Mist. I went public and they BURNED DOWN the boy's school. I've FAILED." Cordelia all but shouted, alerting Max who jumped up.

Cordelia took a deep breath and looked at the dog, tears rapidly streaming down her face. "Listen to me," Misty said, "You have NOT failed. You've done everything ya can to help this coven and help that school, even with all the shit they keep pullin'. They have ya in their corner despite everything, fighting for them. That's not failure. It's not failure until YOU decide to give up. Which I know ya won't, because ya are nothing like Fiona. Ya give everything ya have to those girls and they all know it. You would gladly step in front of a bus for them, that's not failure. Elliott is happy and healthy, that girl is fuckin' THRIVING here and everyone knows that's all your doing. That's not failure. You haven't failed, no matter what's going on in the world. You can't control terrible things happenin', the coven went public because we needed to. Do ya think Mallory or Elliott would be here if it didn't? And ya haven't fucked up with me, not even a little bit."

Cordelia looked in Misty's eyes and saw the fierceness in them, and she knew the woman wasn't lying to her. Her emotions got the best of her and she kissed the younger girl hard on the lips, Misty melting into the kiss. The older woman caught herself and pulled away, trying to form the words to an apology, but Misty just looked at her and kissed her again, the two smiling into the kiss. Neither of them spoke when they pulled apart, Misty standing and pulling Cordelia up. "Let's get inside, ya?"

Cordelia smiled and nodded, reaching down to grab the dog. The two walked inside and Cordelia put Max in his pen, still holding hands with Misty. The two heard footsteps and slowly turned around, Elliott coming into view from the kitchen and leaning up against a wall, obviously trying to look not drunk. "You two have a good night?" She asked suspiciously, furrowing her brow.

Cordelia held in a laugh, but Misty chuckled a little bit. "Seriously, really Elle?" Cordelia asked, trying to sound angry.

"Seriously what? I just asked a question." Elliott slurred, oblivious as to what the woman was actually saying.

"I thought you were going to bed?" Misty asked, trying to hint that Elliott needed to head that way.

"I thought you two were pretending you weren't in love. It's not going so well if you ask me." Elliott said, pulling a cheese stick out of her pocket and unwrapping it. The young girl stared at it a minute, confused on how she was going to pull it apart, then just bit the end of it.

"What are you talking about?" Cordelia asked, trying to act offended.

"Please, you could hear your spit sounds from the greenhouse." Elliott responded, waving her hand with the cheesestick in front of her for emphasis.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that, eavesdropper. Why are you eating a cheesestick like that? That's not right." Cordelia laughed walking towards the girl.

Elliott shrugged, "Because I wanted to."

Cordelia stopped halfway before meeting the girl, noticing her locket that had flipped over during the conversation, the name etched in it shining perfectly in the light. She walked towards the girl and grabbed it, studying it to make sure she was reading it right. "What are you doing? You've seen it lady." Elliott said, drunk and confused, looking down, "Oh, you haven't seen that, I forgot."

Cordelia got tears in her eyes and just stared at the locket for a moment before pulling the girl into a hug. "I just want you to know, I'm really pissed at you right now." She whispered into Elliott's hair.

"This is you pissed? This is it? Damn I lucked out." Elliott responded, making Cordelia hold her tighter and laugh.

"Ha, you won't feel that way tomorrow when you're sober and grounded." Cordelia said with a snicker.

"Wait that's a real thing?" Elliott said, pulling away and looking confused, "I thought that was just something white people did in movies to seem cool."

"Nope, it's very real, and you'll be living it." Cordelia responded, "Now isn't it time for you to go to bed now?"

"Grounded and a bedtime? Damn you're taking this way too seriously. I haven't even finished my cheesestick yet." Elliott said drunkenly, very obsessed with the status of her cheesestick. Madison appeared in the stairwell and Elliott's face dropped, knowing the shit show that was about to occur. "I'm gonna go sit in here til the room stops spinning." She said, turning towards the kitchen and half stumbling in, sitting at the island.

Misty turned to follow her, not wanting to be in the room for the conversation, taking a seat next to her as Cordelia turned to Madison and said angrily, "Maddie, my office. Now." The two headed upstairs and pretty soon the two women at the table could hear shouting, mostly from Cordelia. Elliott took an immediate interest in her cheesestick, feeling guilty that Madison was getting in trouble because of her. "What the fuck were you thinking Madison? She's fucking 15 years old!" Cordelia could be heard screaming from above.

"Oh my god Cordi, she's fucking fine! The kid needed a god damn break! Let her be normal for once!" Madison screamed back loud enough for the women downstairs to hear, causing Elliott to drop her head to the counter.

The two continued to go at it for another 15 minutes without showing an sign of ceasing, and with each scream Misty noticed Elliott getting more and more anxious. Finally when Elliott started to shake the older witch decided to intervene, heading up stairs to the office and entering without knocking. "Maddie," Misty said sharply, "Go ta bed."

"I'm not done yet." Cordelia said harshly, her eyes blazing as she stared at Madison.

"Yes, ya are. You really think screamin' so loud the whole house can hear ya is going to fix anything? You two can talk tomorrow when ya both have calmed down." Misty said, trying to come across as gentle but firm. She looked at Madison and the younger witch took the cue and left, slamming her bedroom door behind her.

Cordelia shot Misty a glare before leaning on her desk, arms crossed. "I wasn't done." She said sharply, still fuming.

"I know ya weren't but ya needed ta be. Yall were screaming at the top of ya lungs and Elliott's downstairs shaking like a god damn leaf. I know you're upset and ya got every right ta be, but ya gotta try and contain it at least a little bit, or get out of earshot." Misty said softly, Cordelia's face falling, guilt washing over her.

"What the fuck was she thinking?" Cordelia said, still harsh but quieter.

"Come on Dee, ya never drank at 15?" Misty said, giving a soft but cheeky smile.

Cordelia rolled her eyes, she knew Misty was right, but she still was angry, "Yea but I never got caught, and I didn't have a bunch of girls who KNEW BETTER helping me do it."

"She's here, she's safe, and she's not pukin'. Would ya rather her go off and do it at some random party and lie about it?" Misty asked, already knowing the answer.

"She DID lie about it." Cordelia responded.

"I don't think she did. Ya know Elliott, she's not the type ta outright lie. It's not black and white. We don't know what happened. I'm sure if ya asked her she would tell ya." Misty said softly.

"I didn't mean to make her upset. I should go talk to her." Cordelia said softly, pushing off the desk.

"Give yourself a minute to calm down, her too. She just heard ya scream ya head off, rushing ta her probably will do more harm than good." Misty said softly, pushing Cordelia back into the room as she stepped out. Cordelia nodded and the younger witch headed back downstairs to the kitchen, Elliott still slumped over on the island, her head in her hands. She wasn't visibly shaking anymore, but she still jumped when Misty lightly touched her shoulder and sat down beside her. "Ya ok?"

Elliott looked up and nodded softly. "Yea, I'm-" She stopped herself, knowing her saying she was fine was a dead giveaway that she wasn't, "I… I think im going to go to bed, im tired."

Misty gave her a knowing look, "Elle, come on. Ya ain't tired and ya ain't going ta bed yet. Just relax. Ya haven't even finished ya cheesestick yet."

Elliott softly shook her head and stared at the cheese on the counter. "I'm not hungry anymore." She said softly.

Misty got up and grabbed a glass of water, sliding it over to the girl. "Ya need ta eat somethin' before ya go to bed unless ya wanna be sick. Drink the water." She said softly, motioning to the glass as she sat back down.

Elliott drank a bit of the water then picked up her phone, quickly sending Madison an "I'm sorry" text.

"Don't be." Was all she got in response, calming her nerves a little bit, but she still felt guilty.

"I know the yellin' scared ya darlin', and I'm sorry. They shoulda' handled that better." Misty said softly, causing the girl to look over at her.

"It's fine, it's not like they were yelling at me or anything. I shouldn't get so worked up over it, I should be used to it by now." Elliott said, shaking her head. She couldn't help being scared, and she tried to not be too hard on herself, she had dealt with her fair share of screaming, usually aimed at her. But she felt like a baby. She knew no one was going to hurt her, but apparently her body didn't agree with her mind.

"Elle, it's ok, really. No one here expects that you'll just get over that stuff overnight. It takes time darlin'." Misty said, rubbing the girls back.

The two chatted a bit and a few minutes later Cordelia wandered down into the kitchen, placing a hand on Elliott's back as she passed her, causing the young girl to involuntarily flinch. Cordelia felt it and immediately felt guilty all over again, she hated that Elliott was scared of her, and she knew this time she kind of deserved it, she went overboard, not thinking about how it might affect the girl. The supreme took a deep breath and grabbed herself a glass of wine, desperately needing to unwind, and she leaned on the counter in front of the two other women. "You feeling ok? Not going to puke yet?" Cordelia said softly, trying to make Elliott relax and crack a smile.

The younger girl just looked down at her hands and nodded, "Yea, I'm ok."

"What the hell happened tonight Elle? Ya told me it wasn't happenin' tonight." Misty said softly, getting the girl to look up at her.

"I told Madison it wasn't a good idea to do it tonight, but she wouldn't drop it. I don't know, it just kinda happened." Elliott said quietly, turning her head so she didn't have to look at the two women. She didn't want to throw Madison under the bus, after all Elliott could have told her no, but she didn't. She was as much to blame as anyone else.

"Did you actually want to do it?" Cordelia asked softly from across the room, causing the girl to look at her briefly before turning back away and shrugging her shoulders. It wasn't a trick question, the supreme just was genuinely curious, so she asked again, "Elle? Did you actually want to do it? Or did the girls pressure you into it?"

Elliott looked back at her again, making eye contact. "I don't know, both I guess? I wanted to do it, just not exactly tonight." Elliott just wanted the conversation to be over, her once drunken euphoria now replaced with a feeling like she wanted to crawl out of her own skin. She wasn't sober by any means, just tired and panicky. She didn't want to have a conversation, or for Cordelia to try and make her feel better, at that moment she just wanted to disappear. "Can I go to bed now?" She asked a little more harshly than she had meant to.

"Not quite yet. Listen Elle, I know you're going to want to try this stuff and I'm sorry for getting so mad and upsetting you earlier, but with the adoption it's really not a good time to be going through your rebellious phase." Cordelia said, snickering at the end but still trying to remain serious.

"I know." Elliott replied, clearly irritated.

"Do you?" Cordelia asked, her tone hardening a bit. She understood tonight had been a lot for all of them, but Elliott really was in no position to get an attitude.

Elliott's face softened and she nodded, she did understand. Social workers where always looking for shit like this to put a red flag on the adoption, although Elliott couldn't exactly understand considering how much shit her foster parents got away with. The system was immensely flawed, often times doing the kids more harm than good. If this had happened and there was a surprise visit, they all would have been screwed.

"Now you can go to bed." Cordelia said softly, rounding the Island and pulling Elliott into a hug once she had stood. "Goodnight, I love you. Please drink some more water before bed, we really don't need you hungover tomorrow."

"Night, love you too." Elliott said softly as she left the kitchen, making the trek upstairs. She didn't even realize the words had come out of her mouth until she was upstairs changing into her pj's, and for the first time she wasn't overthinking it. This was her life now, and she was surprisingly ok with it. She contemplated just staying in her own room for the night as she was brushing her teeth, but instead she wandered into Cordelia's and got into bed, burying herself underneath the covers and falling asleep.

Downstairs, Cordelia had stayed frozen for a solid minute after Elliott had left, not sure she heard what she thought she did. She turned to see Misty beaming at her and she knew then she had heard her right, Elliott had told her she loved her, and she couldn't keep the smile off her face. She tried to remain casual, wandering back over and sipping her wine, still hearing Elliott move around upstairs, but Misty just stared at her. "Stop it!" she whispered across the island, but Misty just kept staring at her as she chuckled.

"Stop what? I'm just lookin' at ya." Misty said, pretending there was nothing going on.

"Don't look at me." Cordelia joked back.

"But I wanna look at ya." Misty retorted.

Cordelia steered the conversation in a different direction and was pleased when Misty went along with it, the two talking and giggling late into the night. Misty was shamelessly flirting with her, but this time she welcomed it, finally feeling like she could be open with the woman in front of her. Neither of them spoke of the kiss that night or discussed what it meant, they both just knew. Cordelia wasn't sure how to tell the rest of the girls, or if she even had to since according to Elliott they all knew. Right now, it was comfortable, and neither woman wanted to mess with what they had by trying to label it. It was a conversation they needed to have, but not this moment.

2 am rolled around and Cordelia finally noticed how late it was, "We should get to bed. We both have an early morning."

Misty looked a little sad, they had been having such a nice time, but she knew the supreme would be up at the crack of dawn taking phone calls again, so she stood and nodded. "Yea, I'm gonna head to bed." She said softly, the two of them staring into each others eyes for a moment, "Night."

"Goodnight, sleep tight." Cordelia responded, making the other woman laugh as she left the kitchen and headed upstairs. She sat for a moment in the kitchen by herself, finishing her glass of wine before heading upstairs to her room. She walked inside and noticed Elliott had fallen asleep in her bed, even though the supreme didn't make her. Cordelia had almost told her to, wanting to make sure she slept ok, but she figured her asking would just make Elliott even more agitated, so she refrained. But somehow Elliott knew and did it anyways, or wanted to stay with her, and that made the older woman smile, climbing into bed and kissing Elliott's forehead before she turned out the light and fell asleep herself.


	20. Chapter 20

When Elliott awoke the next morning Cordelia was already locked away in her study on a phone call. Elliott made her way downstairs and grabbed herself some coffee from the kitchen, turning around just as Misty wandered into the room. "Morning" Elliott said softly.

"Mornin'. You feelin' ok?" Misty replied, a playful smile creeping onto her face.

"Yea I'm fine, surprisingly." Elliott joked back. While she still felt guilty for the past night's events, she knew the situation would blow over, she just wondered exactly how Cordelia was going to ground her. "Has she been stuck in there all morning?" Elliott asked, motioning upstairs towards Cordelia's study.

"Yea, she was already in there when I got up at 7. I'm not sure what time they woke her up screamin'." Misty responded rolling her eyes. Just then the other three girls walked into the kitchen to join them, Mallory and Madison clearly hungover. "Rough mornin'?" Misty asked, turning to face them.

"Ugh, don't swampie." Madison said, looking over at Elliott, "But you look just fine. God how is this fair? I get screamed at AND get a hangover? This shit fucking sucks."

"Sorry about that." Elliott said, feeling the need to apologize to the girl again.

"I told you, don't be. You needed a damn break. I knew Cordi was going to be mad, but I didn't think it would be that bad, that's on me." Madison said, rolling her eyes and scrolling through her phone. "OH MY GOD!" She screamed after a few minutes, her hand covering her mouth.

"What?" Elliott said, walking over to see what was on the screen.

It was a twitter video, and Elliott only caught a glimpse of the screen before Madison pulled it away. "You don't need to see it. Turn on the news." Madison said, visibly upset and searching for the remote for the tv in the kitchen. She flipped on the tv and the news was already playing, a breaking story.

"Breaking News, a missing Georgia boy was found hanging from a tree in a suspected lynching. The boy was known to be one of the many magical beings that the public was made aware of this past year. This is the second violent incident recorded this year after a special school for these people, Hawthorne, was burned down just a few months ago in California. Police are treating this as a hate crime, more updates as we learn them." The news reporter said, showing a picture of the boy and a video from the crime scene.

The room went silent, the girls all staring at the screen as it went to commercial. They then heard a large thump from upstairs and Misty took off, sprinting up the stairs while the others stood motionless. Mallory was the first to speak. "What the fuck? I can't believe this shit. How is this happening?" She said softly, tears running down her face.

Madison looked over at her, her own eyes teary as she softly said, "I guess were back to Salem."

The other three girls finally moved around the room slowly, trying to process what had just happened, while Elliott stood there motionless. She just couldn't comprehend what was unfolding. How could the world hate them so much? How could they be so cruel? She stood there for a few more moments before she heard strangled sobs from upstairs, breaking her trance, and she then made her way towards the stairs, knowing out of all of them, this was going to hit Cordelia the hardest. As she passed Max's pen the dog started whining for her. She debated taking him with her, maybe it would cheer Delia up, but she decided against it and continued her trek up to Cordelia's office, walking slowly as she heard the sobs.

As she came into view of the room, she saw Cordelia practically in the fetal position on Misty's lap on the floor, Misty holding her and trying to calm her down, crying herself. She looked up at Elliott as the girl made her way into the room, dropping to her knees in front of them. Elliott didn't know what to do, nothing she could say would change what was happening or make Cordelia feel any better. The young witch knew the supreme felt like it was all her fault, she had told her countless times she had wished she had never made the coven go public, that it was a mistake. Cordelia still had no idea she was there, not looking up, so the witch chose to just rub her back soothingly as she let her own tears fall down her cheeks. The supreme briefly looked up through her tears and looked at Elliott before her body broke out in a second wave of violent sobs, making her body shake. Elliott took her one free hand and grasped the supreme, squeezing it gently, and was surprised when the supreme took hold of her hand and gave a strong squeeze back.

The three of them sat there for a moment until the older womans violent sobs ceased, Cordelia pulling herself off Misty's lap and curling up on the floor, but still sititng up, her face in her knees. Misty looked at Elliott, not sure what to do to help, and Elliott whispered to her, "Go call the girls, tell them to not leave their homes, don't talk to anyone, nothing. There's a roster on her desk with the numbers. Have Madison call the boys school and get them to do the same thing, no one goes anywhere." Misty looked at Cordelia with uncertainty, not wanting to leave her. "I got her, you go. The less she has to do the better. It will save time."

Misty nodded and stood, going to the desk and grabbing the roster, squeezing Elliott's hand as she passed. Elliott moved so her back was against the desk and pulled the supreme to her, which the older woman resisted a little before falling into her. They sat there for another 20 minutes while Cordelia cried, Elliott just holding her and rubbing her back. There wasn't much she could do but let the older witch cry. Nothing she said could fix this, or make Cordelia feel any less guilty. The only thing she could do is be there for her, so she was.

Cordelia couldn't move, she couldn't think, all she could do was cry. She knew she should be tougher, that she needed to be a leader for these girls and calm their fears, but the truth was she was scared too. Every time she tried to compose herself and think of what to do, she would look at Elliott and the tears would start falling again, a blaring reminder of everything Cordelia had to lose. The thought of losing one of her own girls to these hate crimes was debilitating enough, but the thought that it could be Elliott, that no matter what Cordelia did she couldn't protect her, that was soul crushing. She liked to think she cared about all of her girls equally, that if anything happened to any of them she would be broken, but of something happened to Elliott Cordelia knew she would be destroyed. She felt powerless, it was bad enough they had witch hunters to worry about, but now they had to worry about hate groups, hell bent on killing them?

She had managed to get herself half calmed down, tears still running down her face rapidly, but she at least could think again. Elliott didn't move, still holding the supreme, and the older woman started to pull away, turning her face so she was looking out the window instead of looking at the girl, knowing seeing her face would just make her break down all over again. "I need to call the girls and the other school, pack a bag, get plane tickets, come up with a fucking plan." She whispered softly but angrily, more angry at herself than anyone else.

"No you don't, Misty is calling the girls and Madison is talking to the boy's school right now." Elliott replied softly.

"I have to make a plan." Cordelia said again more forcefully, still looking out the window.

"No you don't, not right now. It can wait." Elliott said gently but forcefully.

Cordelia instinctually turned to face the young girl, realizing her mistake quickly as she caught a glimpse of her face and staring back at the ground, her eyes teary once again. "I'm the supreme, it's my job. I have to do something, I can't just sit here and cry."

"And you will do something, just not right this second. You won't be able to think clearly anyways. You aren't emotionless Cordelia, and you don't have to be." Elliott said forcefully.

"I need to be." Cordelia said, still staring at the floor. She needed to be stronger, she needed to handle things. She hated herself for thinking it, but she needed to be like Fiona.

Elliott scooted closer to the older woman, "No you don't. You caring so much is what makes you a good supreme. You're allowed to be upset over this, I would be worried if you weren't. You're entitled to your feelings. So you are going to sit here and process this and cry as long as you want, or break things if you feel like it. Then, later, you'll get back up and make a plan. Burying your feelings isn't going to help anyone, and it's just going to hurt you."

Cordelia looked up at the young girl and saw the determination on her face, and the older woman got teary eyed again. She knew Elliott was right, she wasn't going to be able to make any good decisions when she was like this, she never did when she was this panicked. She nodded and reached for Elliott's hand, which the girl happily took, both of them leaning against the back of the desk, just sitting in silence.

They sat like that for well over an hour, Cordelia crying softly intermittently. Elliott offered words of encouragement when she needed them, giving her advice Elliott knew she herself would never take, but needed to. The older woman took them as if they were gospel, gaining strength with every word. Each of the girls came up to check on them every once in a while, Elliott each time giving them more things to do like buying plane tickets or having Misty pack Cordelia's bag, and Cordelia noticed just how much of a leader the young girl was becoming.

Eventually 3pm rolled around and Cordelia had started to feel ok again, started to feel like she could do something. Misty came up to the door, "Elle, your therapist is here, she's in the library."

Elliott rolled her eyes but got up without any complaint apart from a halfhearted joke, "Well I guess it's time I take my own advice."

Cordelia chuckled a little bit at the comment and stood with her, pulling her into a hug and kissing the top of her head. "Have fun." She said softly.

"Oh yea, it's going to be a real party." Elliott said sarcastically, walking out of the room.

"Maddie got the plane tickets, your flight leaves at 7." Misty said softly, getting a nod from Cordelia. "Hey Dee, I know you're leavin' and all, but ya told Elle she was gonna be grounded, what exactly are ya grounding her from?"

Cordelia chuckled lightly, "Yea I didn't really think that one through. She doesn't leave the house as is, she barely watches tv, and I don't want to take her phone away from her. What am I supposed to ground her from? Books? The greenhouse?"

"Who has ta ground their kid from books?" Misty chuckled back.

"Someone who has a good kid who does dumb things, that's who." Cordelia snickered back before turning serious. "While I'm gone, no one can leave the house, at all. Elliott can take the dog out with you, but nothing else. Not even going to the greenhouse, we can't risk it." Misty nodded at her before she continued, "Call David, ask him to come here and if he won't at least tell him to stay inside and keep a low profile. I know he has work and things he can't miss but he's been in and out of the house too often, I don't want to risk someone getting him."

"Ya really think they're going to go after us? Here?" Misty asked.

"I don't know." Cordelia said honestly. She had no clue what was going to happen, but she didn't want to risk anyone else getting hurt.

"Well, ya bag is packed and the girls are workin' on theirs. Ya sure ya don't want me ta go with ya?" Misty asked.

"No I need you to stay here with Mallory and Elliott, keep them safe." Cordelia said, moving to her desk and opening a drawer, handing a cell phone to the younger girl. "Here, take this, you're going to need it."

"Dee, I don't need a phone, I got no one ta talk to." Misty said, not grabbing the phone.

"You've got me to talk to, now take it please." Cordelia said, obviously flirting a little bit.

Misty smiled and grabbed the phone, rounding the desk and pulling Cordelia into a kiss. The kiss was brief, and the two pulled apart as Misty said, "Ok, ya gotta work, Elliott will be done soon and then we gotta get ya cute butt ta the airport." The supreme laughed as Misty left the room, then got serious again and tried to think of what to do.

Meanwhile, Elliott was in therapy, and for once she was actually trying to be as honest as possible, to open up. They were discussing Elliott's confusion surrounding her nightmares. She had been having ones not about the attack, but from when she was younger. While Elliott could remember these events in her dreams, she couldn't remember them actually happening to her, and that confused her. She didn't remember much of what happened in her earlier foster homes, but she knew something very dramatic did, after all she eventually got sent away.

"Sometimes when tramatic things happen our brain blocks them so we can't remember, but it manifests itself in other ways, like your dreams. It's a symptom of PTSD." The therapist said gently. In the brief conversation the two women had had, the therapist had already diagnosed Elliott with PTSD and anxiety, and they hadn't even touched on her possible eating disorder.

"But I hate not remembering, because then I don't know if the dream was real or not. I want to remember so I know how to deal with it. I can't keep having this happen." Elliott said a little angrily.

"Well, you said earlier Cordelia had gotten a copy of your file and read it. Why don't you go look at it? If you want to, that is. It won't tell you everything, but it might trigger some memories or at least give you an idea of what you went through in those houses." The therapist suggested.

"I don't think I want to read it. It will just make me angry because most of it is made up. They always found a way to blame me for everything." Elliott said honestly. She had thought of reading her file before, if for nothing else her own closure, but she didn't want to know all of the awful things they said about her, or what they labeled her. A small part of her always thought that they were right, that she was the problem.

"Well then you don't have to. It looks like our time is up for the day, I'm going to go see Cordelia and schedule another visit with you, I would like to see you twice a week for now, just until we make some progress. Is that ok?" The therapist asked as she stood.

"Um, you aren't going to tell Cordelia what we talked about, right?" Elliott asked nervously. It wasn't that she was necessarily trying to hide anything, she just knew when Elliott talked about her past she made Cordelia sad, and she had enough to deal with right now.

"I can't tell her anything without your permission, and even if I could it's not my place to share your stories with her." The therapist said with a smile, making the girl calm down. Elliott nodded and the therapist went to see Cordelia in her office, talking briefly before showing herself out.

Elliott made her way towards the supreme's office to check on her, peeking her head around the doorframe. Cordelia spotted her immediately, "How did it go? Did you hate it as much as you thought you would?"

Elliott shook her head no before speaking, "It went ok. We just talked about what's been happening. She thinks I have PTSD or something like that, but I don't know."

Cordelia chuckled and nodded her head, Cordelia already knew for a fact Elliott had PTSD, the therapist didn't need to tell her that. She did find it amusing though that Elliott seemed to doubt her, thinking she was perfectly fine.

"What are you laughing at?" Elliott asked incrediously.

"Nothing. We have to go soon, a car will be here at 5 to take us to the airport." Cordelia said, looking back through all her notes.

"You figure out what you're going to do?" Elliott asked, curious.

Cordelia shook her head, "Not completely, I guess im just going to wing it. It's complicated."

Elliott frowned, "Well can't you at least bring the boy back. I mean, isn't that literally one of the tests for supreme?"

Cordelia smiled softly, "So you've been reading more I see. Yes, I can resurrect people. However, it isn't so clear in this if I should or even could. They…. They disfigured him, so I don't know how much I can do. And it isn't public knowledge that we can bring people back from the dead, so if I do do it, it could lead to things getting worse. The other school wants me to do it, but the supremes in the past have always said we don't bring someone back unless we absolutely need to. Something about messing too much with the natural order of things."

Elliott understood, it was like that train dilemma where you sacrifice one to save the many or sacrifice the many to save the one. If it got out that they could resurrect people it would only cause more hate and more crimes against them, more people would get hurt, and while there were no right answers, Cordelia had to look out for the rest of them, not just this boy. She nodded at the supreme and stopped asking questions, she didn't need to know everything, at some point she just had to trust that Cordelia was going to do what was best for all of them. She did feel for her though, it was a difficult choice, one she was sure to get backlash for from the boy's school. They were always looking for a reason to say Cordelia didn't care about them, which couldn't be farther from the truth.

The time came for the council to leave and after the supreme hugged Misty, suddenly she got very panicky, once again not wanting to leave Elliott, especially when all of this was going on. "Listen to Misty, no matter what she says, do it please. Be careful when taking Max outside, hell, let him pee in the house for all I care. You can text me or call me whenever, both of you." She said, looking over at Misty as well at the last bit. She turned back to Elliott and gently grabbed her face in her hands. "And I want you to listen to me VERY carefully. NO leaving the house, for any reason. I don't care if you are upset, I don't care if you just wanted to get ice cream, I don't care if someone is outside dying. You do not leave this house. Is that clear?"

Elliott nodded and pulled her face away, getting a serious look from the supreme. "Yea, I got it, you want to put deadbolts on all the doors too?"

"Don't test me. You leave this house and I will chain you to your bed." Cordelia said, dead serious.

"Yea I know, I won't. Go save the world or something. We'll be here when you get back." Elliott said jokingly.

Cordelia laughed a little bit and pulled the girl into a tight hug, kissing the top of her head, "I love you."

"Love you too." Elliott replied, half strangled. Zoe, Madison, Queenie and Cordelia then made their way out to the car, the three other girls watching as they drove off. Just then Elliott's phone started vibrating, and she looked at it half expecting it to be Cordelia, but surprisingly it was David, so she headed back inside to her room and plopped on her bed. "What's up?"

"Six body guards just showed up at my door. Cordelia has officially lost it." David said loudly, causing Elliott to laugh.

"Well you refused to come here, she's really freaked out. Told me she would chain me to my bed if I left the house while she was gone." Elliott said jokingly.

"People are going to think I'm the presidents kid or something, how the hell did she find SIX secret service agents?" David joked back.

"Woman has connections, I don't know. I'm surprised she didn't call in the military to protect the house." Elliott said, half serious.

"Because you guys don't need guns, if someone comes in to hurt you guys you just have to stare at him and he'll collapse on the floor." David said, causing Elliott to laugh. "How was therapy? Did you come out a new woman?"

Elliott laughed, "Not exactly. We just talked about everything going on and the nightmares. My therapist thinks I should read my file to help me remember some of this shit, but I don't know."

David paused for a moment before saying, "I think you should, you need to put that past you, get some closure. It's not like that file rules your life anymore, there's no reason to be scared of it. Take its power away."

"Have you read yours?" Elliott asked, curious.

"Yea, they gave it to me when I was emancipated. It hurt, to see all the stuff they said about me, but I knew it wasn't true. Actually facing it helped me put it behind me." David replied.

"But it isn't behind me, at least not yet. They still could take me from the house at any time, and then that file will rule me again." Elliott responded.

"I doubt Cordelia would let anyone take you from that house, she would kill them first." David joked.

"Yea probably. We'll see, I'll think about it." Elliott said softly. The two chatted for a few more moments before David had to go to work, the two hanging up as Elliott texted Cordelia. "SIX bodyguards? Really?"

Cordelia quickly responded, her plane not ready for takeoff quite yet, "I was just being safe, he's lucky six is all I could find, I was looking for eight."

"I'm surprised you didn't call in the reserves." Elliott joked back.

"Don't give me any ideas, I still have 20 minutes before takeoff." Cordelia said, "I'm not kidding."

"There's no way you can get a whole army before takeoff." Elliott replied, laughing to herself.

"Bet me." Was Cordelia's response.

"Alright crazy lady, settle down. I don't think the reserves can handle us. Have a safe flight!" Elliott texted back.

"They definitely can't. I love you, I'll call you when we land." Cordelia quickly responded.

"Aw, you miss me that much already? Love you too. We'll hold down the fort." Elliott responded before sliding away her phone and heading towards Cordelia's study.

She quietly opened the door and walked inside, for some reason she was nervous. She didn't know why, it's not like she would get in trouble for being in here. Maybe it was because she wasn't sure if she even wanted to look at her file, but there she was, searching for it. She scoffed when looking at Cordelia's massive shelf of binders, all the same size and color and all of them without labels. She knew Cordelia didn't need labels, she always knew exactly where everything was, maybe this was to stop people from snooping, like Elliott was. She stared at the shelf for a moment, deciding what to do when she got a feeling she couldn't explain. She didn't think her file was on those shelves, it was somewhere else, hidden. She didn't know why she thought that, maybe she was just that familiar with who Cordelia was that she knew where she would keep things. She turned her attention from the shelf and stared at Cordelia's desk, trying to think of where the supreme might put it. She suddenly had another feeling, and reached down to the bottom drawer, the only drawer with a lock on it. It was in there, Elliott knew it. Elliott debated just leaving it alone, if Cordelia had locked it in the drawer it was obviously for a reason, but for some reason Elliott found herself desperately wanting to read it.

"She keeps the key in her jewelry box in her room with her rings." Elliott practically jumped up, clutching her chest when she saw Spalding. "Did I scare you?"

"Yea, just a bit." Elliott said, feeling frightened.

"I see they told you about me." Spalding said emotionlessly. "I'm not going to hurt you, regardless of what they think."

This peaked Elliott's interest, so she asked, "Why do you only show yourself to me?"

Spalding waved her off, "It's not important. Go find the key."

"No seriously, why?" Elliott said, putting pressure on him.

Spalding paused for a moment, "You look like her."

Elliott stared at him confused, "Look like who?"

Spalding turned to leave, not giving an explanation. "Go find the key Elliott." He said as he walked out, disappearing when Elliott moved after him.

Elliott stood in the hallway for a moment, debating on whether or not to continue. She felt like opening the drawer would violate Cordelia's privacy, but she also felt like she had a right to know what was in her file. She wasn't trying to snoop, just figure things out. She walked into Cordelia's room and looked for the jewelry box, finding it sitting on the dresser. She hesitated, but opened it anyways, searching for the key. It wasn't hard to find, it was on top of everything else, hooked around what looked like a men's wedding band. She unhooked it and quickly shut the box, tip toeing back to the study and unlocking the drawer. She paused for a moment, debating on if she should be doing this once again, but pulling the drawer open anyways. The drawer was empty besides one big binder, and Elliott pulled it out and flipped open to the first page, double checking that it was in fact her file. It was, and she quickly shut the drawer without locking it and took the binder to her room, sliding it into a drawer underneath some of her shirts until she was ready to read it, if she wanted to read it. She put the key back and took a deep breath, making her way downstairs to the other girls.

Misty smiled at her as she walked into the kitchen, "They just took off, Dee said she would talk ta us after they land."

"Oh so I'm not the only one she was texting. Pitty, I thought she just missed me already." Elliott said, teasing the older woman. She spotted Max sleeping at Misty's feet. "Has he been crazy?"

Misty looked down at the dog, "No, he's been good. I took him outside not too long ago, but he really didn't wanna be out there. Reporters were starting ta line up at the gate takin' pictures, I think they scared him."

Elliott nodded then grabbed herself a glass of water, "So how serious do you think Cordelia's "No going out to the greenhouse rule" is?"

Misty laughed, "Pretty serious darlin'. I know it seems overboard but we really don't know what's goin' on yet."

Elliott rolled her eyes but nodded, she knew Misty was right, but the greenhouse was her favorite place to be besides the library, and she really didn't like the idea of not being able to go. The three women chatted for a bit as Misty made them dinner, Elliott picking at her food, too nervous to be hungry. She didn't know why she was so nervous, this really wasn't that big of a deal, but she felt like she was hiding something, and she hated feeling like that. She could just text Cordelia and ask her if it was ok if she looked, but she was worried the supreme would tell her no. After all, it was locked away where Elliott couldn't get to it, not out in the open. Cordelia was hiding it, but why Elliott wasn't sure of.

Misty noticed Elliott zoning out, but didn't want to say anything. She knew the day had been hard on all of them, each of them emotionally exhausted. She thought maybe it was because of the therapy, or maybe just because she watched Cordelia sob all day, so she kept to herself, making small talk with Mallory.

The rest of the night was uneventful, Elliott sat in the living room playing with Max while Misty and Mallory worked on a new incantation, neither of them being able to master it. They gave up around 10pm and settled on the floor with Elliott, each of them taking turns pulling on the rope with Max, letting him win each time. Finally, the dog was tuckered out and just laid on the floor staring at them. "Well, I'm tired," Mallory said, "I'm heading to bed. Night!"

"Goodnight!" Elliott and Misty said in unison as Mallory headed up the stairs, causing them to laugh.

Right then Elliott's phone rang, her answering it while giggling, "Hello?"

"Well you seem to be having fun without me." Cordelia said, giggling a little bit at her own joke.

Elliott put the phone on speaker immediately, setting it in between the two women, "Oh yea, being on house arrest is a real party!"

"Hey Dee!" Misty shouted.

"You guys have a fun night?" Cordelia asked.

"Yea, it got a little dicey when the army showed up though. We might have to get rid of a few bodies when you get home." Elliott joked as Misty stared at her confused.

"What?" Misty asked.

Elliott just shook her head as Cordelia laughed on the other end. "Please, no more bodies, I already have enough to deal with without you starting world war III."

"Yea, about that…." Elliott said sarcastically.

The three women chatted for a bit before finally hanging up the phone, Cordelia telling them to go to bed and get some sleep. The girls had made it to the hotel and were turning in for the night, so the two women at the coven didn't want to keep her, bidding her goodnight and hanging up the phone. "Well, I guess we probably should turn in, what do ya think Elle?" Misty said, standing up and offering Elliott a hand.

"Yea, I'm beat." Elliott said, standing up and putting Max in his pen, to which he protested. "Listen, once you don't pee on me you can sleep with me, but until then it's a no-go my dude." She told him, handing him a treat so he would calm down. The two walked upstairs and Misty's phone started to vibrate, and Elliott immediately knew who it was. "Oh so she wasn't really going to bed, she just didn't want to talk to me. I see how it is." She said sarcastically.

"Oh shut up." Misty joked, answering the phone and walking into her room, closing the door behind her.

Elliott sighed and made her way to her room, quickly changing into pj's and settling into bed with her file, the light beside her bed still on so she could see. The binder was thick, much thicker than she thought it would be, and for a second she considered putting it away and just going to bed. If this was all really behind her, then why did she need to read it? But her therapist and David thought it was a good idea, and to be honest Spalding's comments were eating away at her. There had to be something in there right? Maybe the ghost was just messing with her, with his vague comments on her appearance being the reason he showed himself, he really seemed to want her to read it, like there was something she was missing. Frankly, she had felt like she was missing something from the moment she walked into the coven, like she had almost finished a jigsaw puzzle, but there was one piece that wasn't in the box, it was frustrating.

Part of her was also scared, scared that she would just make things worse, that she would learn things she wasn't supposed to, or reignite memories she had long forgotten. She knew the therapist had told her it might give her some clarity, but what if it just made it worse? What if it caused even more nightmares? It was easy to say someone should do something when you are blind to what they're getting into, Elliott had only scratched the surface with the woman, she didn't know what was coming. But, Elliott really did want to read it, to know what was being said about her, to understand the narrative that got her bounced around from home to home, so she pushed away all of her doubts and opened the file, skimming over the first page.

She slowly read through the pages, and she found it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. The first few pages covered her first foster home, which she really didn't remember much about. The file said they tried to adopt her, but the father was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer early on in the process and they couldn't keep her, and off she went to the second home. Elliott did remember the family vaguely, and from what she remembered they were one of the only nice homes she was in. She wondered what they were up to then, if they were both even still alive.

The second home was her longest stay at any of them, and this one she remembered a bit better. She was there for almost a year and a half, and she remembered their son would always chase her around the yard with a knife, but overall the family wasn't too horrible, they would just fight a lot.

The third home came when she was 4, and that was the one where she set the woman's couch on fire. She hated that place, the woman was violent and always drunk, always leaving her alone to go out to the bars and coming home with strange men that would sometimes come into Elliott's room. She set the couch on fire after the woman got a serious boyfriend who would beat her up when the woman was at work. One day he came at her and as she ran away from him she remembered the couch catching fire. She always assumed she had knocked over a candle or something, but now she knew better. She was quickly taken from that home and moved onto the fourth.

The fourth was probably the worst one she had been in, she remembered that. This was the home she had nightmares about regularly, but she couldn't remember why. Her time at that house was a haze. She knew they were alcoholics and drug addicts, and when they got drunk their favorite thing to do was beat the shit out of her, but there was something else she couldn't remember and it frustrated her.

She stared at the page for a while, willing herself to remember something, anything that would explain her night terrors. How could she remember that it was the worst house but not remember WHY? She obviously could dream about it, but whenever she woke she couldn't remember exactly what she was dreaming about, just bits and pieces that didn't equate to the terror she was feeling.

Elliott looked at her phone to check the time and was shocked to see it was almost 2am. She briefly debated staying up all night to finish the file, but frankly she was too exhausted to be able to. She closed the binder and slid it under her bed, scrolling through her phone for a bit to try and calm her down, but all she could do was think about that house. The young girl just felt so out of control, and there was nothing she hated more than that. She could understand not remembering things from her first few homes, she was really young, but she was six by the time she was pulled from that house. Obviously Elliott understood that sometimes to cope with trauma the brain just chooses not to remember, to black out the whole thing so you can still function as a person, but Elliott WANTED to remember. What did they do that was so horrible she erased it from her memory?

Elliott threw her phone down and violently pulled the covers up to her ears, willing herself to stop thinking and fall asleep. She tossed and turned for hours until she was too exhausted to function, finally falling into a restless slumber.

The next day Elliott woke up to her phone buzzing against her face, and as she looked at the phone she noticed it was almost 1pm. By the time she went to answer the phone it hung up, and Elliott noticed she had four missed calls from Cordelia and about a dozen text messages, each message getting more frantic. Just as she was about to text Cordelia back her phone went off again, and she answered it with a sleepy, "Hello?"

"Why have none of you been answering your phones? Are you ok?" a frantic Cordelia said on the other side.

"I was sleeping, what's up?" Elliott replied, sitting up in the bed.

"Since when do you sleep until after noon?" Cordelia said, her voice slightly less panicked.

"Since today apparently." Elliott responded sarcastically.

"Is everything ok over there?" The older woman asked.

"Unless I slept through the apocalypse, yes everything is fine. How are things over there?" Elliott joked.

"Not funny." Cordelia replied, her tone serious.

"It was too funny. How are things over there?" Elliott laughed.

"Fine I guess, or as fine as they could be considering. The police have three boys in custody, but we couldn't bring him back, there was just too much damage." Cordelia answered, the sadness evident in her voice.

"So what now?" Elliott asked.

"I don't know. There's not much else I can do here, I already told the police everything I could get from my visions. It was his friends, his own fucking friends." Cordelia spat with anger.

"Oh my god." Elliott gasped. How could someone's own friends turn on them like that?

"Yea. Now I have to tell the girls they can't reveal their powers to anyone, after all we did to teach them to embrace them. They have to hide again. It's just not safe." Cordelia said softly.

"When are you coming back?" Elliott asked.

"Tomorrow evening, I'm just going to talk to the parents and help them deal with funeral arrangements, make things as easy for them as possible. I just wish I could do more." Cordelia said, obviously frustrated with the way things turned out.

"You've done plenty, you gave them closure. God knows if the police would ever figure out who did it on their own. All you can do is help them." Elliott said seriously.

"I know… I have to go. Tell everyone hi for me?" Cordelia said softly as someone obviously was trying to talk to her.

"I will, bye." Elliott said, hanging up the phone. She headed downstairs and was greeted by Max jumping at her feet, "Well hey there little dude. You miss me?" She stepped around him and made her way into the kitchen where Mallory and Misty were sitting chatting. "Morning"

"More like afternoon." Misty joked, "You sleep ok?"

"Once I got to sleep?" Elliot said with a laugh, "Yea, where are your phones? Cordelia called me in a panic because no one was answering. Woke me out of a dead sleep."

"Oh, mines upstairs charging, I forgot to do it last night. Sorry." Mallory said, giggling slightly.

"I don't even know where mine is." Misty said honestly.

"You lost it already?" Elliott joked.

"I did not LOSE it, I just misplaced it." Misty joked back, causing everyone to chuckle. "What did she say? Is everything ok?"

Elliott filled the two girls in on what she knew, and they all were just as shocked and horrified as she was. "His friends?" Mallory said in disbelief, "That's so messed up."

Elliott nodded, "Yea it is. They're coming home tomorrow by the way, they already booked a flight."

The three women chatted for a bit about less depressing, menial things, but there really wasn't much to talk about when you were trapped inside the house with each other. Eventually the conversation died out and Elliott excused herself to go take a shower, quickly cleaning herself up and changing, then locking her door and sitting cross legged on her bed, her file on her lap. She opened it to right where she left off.

The fifth home she was in was the one where she first met Thomas. It was also the first home where her file documented any sort of abuse, but then again it was kind of hard to cover up the dozen broken bones she had, most of which weren't discovered until they had healed wrong and it was too late. The notes on the home did still mention that Elliott was the cause of most of the abuse, that she was violent and prone to running off, somehow making her look like the one at fault, like the parent's abuse was justified. After that she went to her first group home, which wasn't necessarily physically abusive, they just didn't feed her. It was partly because the women who ran it despised her and partly because the home was so underfunded. Elliott distinctly remembered a time when none of them had food to eat for days, their only source of nutrition came from school lunches and the single glass of orange juice they were given in the morning. That was also the home she was placed in with Thomas after he was taken from his parents, where she used to sneak out to go get things from his friends. She got caught once, and that's how she was sent away, moving into her final Foster home with David. That stay was short lived and the two were separated, each going into a different group home. David eventually got emancipated and moved out on his own, but Elliott landed in another home after that filled with abusive kids and even more abusive adults. She ran away from the last two group homes she was in 22 times, 21 of those she was brought back and subject to even further torment, despite her telling her social worker exactly what was going on.

Elliott turned the page and stared at the photos of herself over the years, not believing any of them could actually be her. Those girls were broken and sad, their eyes dark with the torment they endured. Elliott couldn't comprehend how anyone could look at those photos and truly believe she was well cared for. It was strange to her that these where the only photos she had of her childhood, besides the one with Fiona. She used to have more, but those got lost in the shuffle a long time ago. These were all the documentation she had that she even existed in that time, none of her foster parents took photos of her, she wasn't even in her many school yearbooks. No one could be bothered with her, and as sad as that made her, it also made her feel extremely grateful for what she had now. It took almost 16 years, but Elliott finally had a family.

Elliott flipped to the last page and was surprised to see a copy of her birth certificate. She had never seen it before, and for a moment she almost just closed the file. She had made a choice long ago she didn't want to know who her birth parents were; she didn't even want to know their names. Elliott didn't want to pitty herself for her situation, or to wonder what life would have been like if they just kept her. She didn't want to harbor all that anger. She quickly flipped the page over so she wouldn't be tempted, but was surprised to see a copy of a photo that must have been taped to the back. She quickly glanced at it and closed the binder, her brain not processing the image. She stood up and was about to unlock her door, but stopped herself, not sure if she saw who she thought she saw. She debated just leaving it alone, it was probably just her mind playing tricks on her, imposing the face of someone she knew to try to piece together the image she only saw briefly, but she found herself back at her bed, staring at the closed binder. Curiosity got the best of her, and she found herself opening the file once again, staring at the photo.

Her mind wasn't playing tricks on her, that was in fact Cordelia and her husband, holding a baby. Why was that on the back of her birth certificate? She tried to reason with herself, to come up with some excuse. Maybe Cordelia had her original birth certificate and stuck the photo to the back so she wouldn't lose it? Maybe she made a copy for her file? Elliott came up with excuse after excuse as to why the photo would be there, each more unbelievable than the one before it. No way did Cordelia have Elliott's original birth certificate, her file had obviously been faxed over from Social Services, and Elliott was positive if anyone was going to have her original, it would be them, at least until Elliott was adopted. But there had to be some explanation, and the only one Elliott could come up with is that her parents must have put it there. But if Cordelia somehow knew her parents, why didn't she say anything? If she did know her parents it would make sense on why Fiona said she was a family friend, but then why was Cordelia so surprised when Elliott had told her she knew her? Was she faking?

Elliott's phone vibrated and surprise, it was a text from Cordelia. She ignored it, still staring at the photo and willing herself to not turn the page and look. She didn't want to know what was on the other side, she needed to just leave it alone. She was losing the battle, her own curiosity being her greatest fault, she hated not knowing things. There had to be an explanation. Elliott tried to reason with herself, silently telling herself to just call Cordelia and ask her, positive Cordelia would clear things up, tell her it was a mistake, that the photo was just a weird coincidence. But Spalding's voice rang in her ears, 'You look just like her'. This had to be it, the piece she had felt she was missing for so long, Cordelia knew her family, but how?

Before Elliott could even process what she was doing, she was staring at her birth certificate, her full name carefully typed out at the top. She once again considered closing the binder, not wanting to know, but she knew she needed to look. If nothing else, it was her past, and it didn't have to affect her anymore. She carefully read down the document, realizing she never actually knew the time she was born, 4:38 am. There was the hospital and the city she was born in, which of course was New Orleans, she knew that much. She reached the bottom of the document and took a deep breath before staring at the names of her birth parents, Cordelia Goode and Hank Foxx.

Her stomach dropped and the room started to spin, all the blood rushing down from her head to her feet. It had to be a mistake, no way was she reading this right. Maybe there was another Cordelia Goode that lived in New Orleans, but something in Elliott doubted that. It was too much of a coincidence. Her signature looked exactly like the one Elliott had watched Cordelia scribble out countless times, coupled with the photo on the back, everything started to fall into place. She started to doubt her own gut, coming up with even more excuses. Maybe Cordelia had changed her birth certificate, since she was getting adopted? But why would her ex-husband's name be there as the father, and why would there be the photo?

Elliott sat for a few minutes in shock, not wanting to believe what was lying there in front of her. Cordelia was her birth mom. Suddenly it made sense why Fiona visited her, why she said she was a friend of the family. She didn't mean her adoptive family, she meant her birth family. So Fiona was her grandmother?

Elliott heard a knock on her door, jarring her from her thoughts. She quickly scrambled and slid the binder under her bed, running to open the door. "Yea?" she asked as she swung it open, revealing Misty on the other side.

"Dinner is gonna be ready in a few, ya wanna come down?" Misty asked.

"Uh, yea. I'll be down in a few." Elliott said, obviously distracted.

"Everythin' alright? You've been stuck up here all day." Misty said, noticing the girls obvious discomfort.

"Uh yea, it's fine, I was just reading." Elliott responded, telling sort of the truth.

"With the door locked?" Misty said, her eyes looking Elliott over curiously.

"Oh, I didn't even realize it was locked, I must have forgot to unlock it after I got dressed, sorry." Elliott offered, a blatant lie.

"Uh, ok. I'll see you down there." Misty said, still suspicious. She left the doorframe and headed downstairs, disappearing into the kitchen.

"So you read it." Spalding said from behind Elliott, causing her to whip around.

"Jesus. Can you not do that? You scared the shit out of me. Also don't come into my room without being invited, it's creepy." Elliott said, her heart racing.

"I told you, you look like her." Spalding replied in his normal monotone voice.

"Cordelia? I look nothing like Cordelia." Elliott responded, her voice dropping to a whisper.

"Not Cordelia, Fiona." Spalding said pointedly.

"I don't look like anyone, now get out." Elliott said harshly, her mind revolting against all this new information she was given. She didn't want to believe it, so she was lashing out.

Spalding clucked his tongue against the roof of his mouth repeatedly as he exited her room, disappearing once he was past the doorframe. Elliott let out a sigh of relief and closed the door behind her, trying to get her bearings. She had to go down and face the other women and act like nothing was wrong, which she doubted she could pull off. Did they all know? Or were they in the dark too? Elliott debated coming clean to them, but now she wanted to know everything, and she didn't want them to try and protect the supreme. She thought for a moment, debating if she should get inside their heads, look at their memories. None of the witches besides Cordelia knew she could do it, at least not that she was aware of. They would have no clue what she was doing. But, Cordelia told her not to, and Elliott knew if she did this it would be invasive, and the complete wrong thing to do, but she had to know.

Elliott hadn't even begun to process what this all meant, or how she even felt about it. Was she angry? Was she sad? She really didn't know, but something in her told her at least some of them knew, they were always acting weird, especially when she first came to the coven. If they did know, why were they all hiding it from her? There was plenty of times where Cordelia could have told her, but she didn't. Elliott felt betrayed and lied to, and she realized she really didn't know any of the women in this coven at all. The more she sat there the angrier she got, and she decided she wanted to know everything, unfiltered, and if that meant going inside the girl's heads, then that was exactly what she was going to do.

She made her way down to the kitchen and sat at the table, not making conversation. Misty already knew something was up, so Elliott didn't really have to pretend that hard like things were fine. She could easily play it off as her being upset about what happened to the boy or worried about their safety or whatever, there were multiple reasons why she wouldn't be ok. Misty and Mallory tried to engage in conversation with her, but she answered all their questions in as few words as possible, not with an attitude or anything, just coming across as preoccupied. They took the hint that she wasn't going to say much that night and continued the conversation between the two of them, which gave Elliott the perfect opportunity to get inside their heads without being noticed. She went after Mallory first, combing through her memories until she found one of her and Cordelia alone in the supreme's room. Elliott played it back, watching carefully.

If you won't tell me, you at least have to tell the council, let them know what they're dealing with.

Elliott can't know about this, at least not anytime soon.

Elliott sped up the memory a little bit, fast forwarding like a VCR tape, singling out specific parts of the conversation.

Elliott is my kid…I need to keep her here… She'll be dangerous and I don't think anyone can stop her.

She retracted from Mallory's mind, not needing to see any more. Mallory knew, she knew from the beginning, and she didn't tell her. And by the looks of the memory, so did the council. Everyone knew, except maybe Misty. Elliott felt betrayed, these were people she trusted, and they all lied to her. She pushed all the negative feelings away, not wanting to have an outburst and alert the women something was really wrong.

Elliott contemplated entering Misty's mind, seeing if she too knew. She hoped she didn't, and for a moment she almost left it alone, knowing if Misty knew as well the girl would be crushed, she really liked Misty, she was almost just as close to her as she was to Cordelia, emphasis on WAS. But Elliott was in too deep now, if she was going to know she wanted to know it all, so she entered Misty's mind, combing through her memories now as well. She had an idea of when Cordelia would have told her, so Elliott started with the memories from the past month, starting and the beginning and working towards the most recent ones. She saw nothing in her older memories, nothing from the hospital, from the hushed conversations they had from the night they told Elliott about Spalding, and she found herself landing on the memory from two nights earlier, of them outside on the porch. Elliott almost didn't look, knowing it was the night they got together, but if it was going to be anywhere, it would be there. She skimmed the memory, stopping when she reached a particularly curious part.

What's been goin' on with you?

Nothing, I'm fine.

No, ya' ain't.

…

I'm Elliott's birth mom. She doesn't know.

…

You have to tell her before she finds out, and she's gonna find out.

Elliott retreated from Misty's head, having her answer. She found she wasn't as angry with Misty as she was with the other women, she had only found out two days ago, and she told Cordelia she needed to tell Elliott. While it still stung a bit that everyone was hiding it from her, she didn't really feel that betrayed by Misty. Cordelia should have been the one to tell her, and Misty told her that.

Elliott's phone vibrated, another text from Cordelia, "Everything going ok?"

Elliott debated not responding, she didn't want to talk to Cordelia, not even through text. But Elliott knew if she didn't text the woman back that everyone would be suspicious and Cordelia would probably want to call her and figure out what was wrong, and she really couldn't have a phone conversation with her right now, so she simply responded, "Yea"

Elliott kept to herself all throughout the rest of dinner, being the first one to leave the table and take her plate to the kitchen, then heading upstairs to her room. Normally, she would have played with Max a bit, knowing he was desperate for attention, but he was another blaring reminder of Cordelia, she told Elliott she could keep the dog. Elliott shut her door but didn't lock it this time, and tried to control the anger that was bubbling in her veins. She was pissed, at everyone, but especially Cordelia. Elliott was lied to, for months, and for what? Because she was powerful? Because they needed her on their side because otherwise they thought she could ruin them all? They used her because she was too dangerous. Did Cordelia even want her to begin with? Or was it all some master plan to keep her here, to keep her tied to them? A part of Elliott thought Cordelia would never do that, that she was too nice, but after the things that were said about her, all the things she had learned, Elliott found herself thinking she really didn't know Cordelia at all. How could Elliott have not seen this coming? How had she let herself fall into this trap so easily? She had to admit, Cordelia was a damn good liar, she really had Elliott believing she cared about her, that she LOVED her. How stupid the young girl had been, she played herself, she let herself get attached, and she got burned. Hard.

Elliott had to admit, this hurt. It killed her inside, more than being abused, more than being pushed from home to home, more than being labelled as a problem when she wasn't. This was a whole new animal. Elliott was manipulated, tricked into thinking someone actually cared about her, and she believed it. This was on her, it was her own fault. But it wouldn't happen again, Elliott promised to herself.

The young girl sat on the bed and debated what to do, Cordelia sending her more texts and her responding with one word answers. She was leaving, that much was for certain, but it was a matter of when. Did she do it that night, after everyone was asleep, or did she wait for Cordelia to return and confront her? Maybe it was a better idea if she stayed, waited until everyone was back and look at the council's memories. She wanted to hurt Cordelia, and she wanted to do it bad. Elliott didn't need her. She didn't need anyone.

Elliott decided to do it the next day, when Cordelia was on a plane. No one could reach her, could tell her Elliott left. She wouldn't know until she landed and by then it would be too late. Elliott didn't need to confront Cordelia, it would hurt more if Cordelia didn't understand why she left, if she happened to discover Elliott's file missing weeks or even months later, finally putting all the pieces together. Elliott already knew the council was aware, she didn't need their memories to confirm it. She was free at last.

Elliott heard Misty's phone ring from downstairs and knew it had to be Cordelia, it wouldn't be anyone else. More than likely she would want to talk to Elliott, but Elliott had no intentions of talking to her, so she quickly changed into her pj's and turned out the light, pretending to be asleep. She overheard half of the conversation from below. "I don't know Dee, she's been weird all day. She was hidin' in her room all day readin', she didn't want ta talk at dinner, it was like pullin' teeth, and she was the first one ta get up and she headed right back into her room. She didn't even play with Max, and ya know she loves him more than anything. Somethin's wrong, but she doesn't wanna talk about it. Has she been off ta ya?" There was a beat of silence. "I don't know, it might be nothin', or maybe it's the whole situation that's happenin' right now, she might just need time. Yea ya can talk ta her, let me go get her." Elliott rolled so her backside faced the door, her face hidden as she tried to take slow deep breaths. Misty knocked but got no response, so she creaked open the door. "Elle?" Again, no response. "I think she's sleepin' Dee. Yea I think she's actually sleepin'. Do ya want me to wake her?" Another beat of silence. "Ok, I'll have her call ya tomorrow mornin'. Night Dee."

Misty stared at the girl for a few moments before closing the door, and as soon as Elliott heard footsteps down the hall she sat up, texting David. "We need to talk, tomorrow."

"Aren't you still on house arrest?" David responded.

"I'll be fine, this is important. I'll be there around 3." Elliott replied.

"Elliott, do not get in trouble. I can come over there." David responded.

"No, I don't want to be here. Either you let me come over or I don't, but you're going to be upset if I don't." Elliott shot back. She didn't want to give too much away and risk David telling on her, it would foil her whole plan, but she felt she owed him an explanation and a goodbye before she left for good. He would never forgive her if she just left without saying anything.

Suddenly, Elliott had the urge to drink, a lot. She knew where Madison hid the booze, but it was in the greenhouse and she knew Misty would never let her go out there, and if she got up now Elliott would have to talk to Cordelia, so the girl waited until everyone had gone to bed, tiptoeing out of her room and down to the backdoor, opening it softly and listening for noise. When all she heard was silence, she carefully made her way out to the greenhouse, using her phone as a flashlight as she grabbed the bottle of tequila from the cabinet. She quickly made her way back inside and softly closed the door, half expecting Misty to be standing behind her when she turned around, but the house was still silent.

Elliott made her way back up to her room and closed the door, sitting on her bed with the half empty bottle, trying to get up the courage to take the first shot. She finally did, then took three more shortly after. Once she was feeling drunk enough, she started to pack her backpack, realizing quickly that she couldn't fit the binder in with all her things. She unpacked the bag, staring at the objects that once had meant so much to her, and realized they were all tainted now. She opened an empty drawer in her dresser and dumped all the gifts Fiona had given to her, all the toys and even the baby blanket, she wanted no part of them. She threw in the photo for good measure, then closed the drawer, leaving behind a piece of her as she did. All of this was past now, she couldn't hold onto anything that reminded her of this house or these people, she needed to disappear.

Elliott finished packing her bag and slid the binder into it, closing the zipper. She turned to get in bed and grabbed her phone, shutting it off completely. She didn't need it anymore, she could always get a burner, she knew David's number by heart. In her drunken haze she covered only half herself with the blanket, but she didn't notice. She quickly fell asleep, plotting the next day's plan.

Elliott slept in past noon once again, waking with a pounding in her head. She quickly sat up and went over the plan she had built once again. She didn't have to pretend like she was fine today, she could act however she wanted, it wouldn't matter in the end. Cordelia's flight took off at 2:30, which meant she had two hours to figure out how to escape. She couldn't just walk out the front door, Misty would absolutely chase after her, so she had to be sneaky, give her enough distance before they noticed she was gone.

Elliott made her way downstairs, and said good morning to the two women who were once again in the kitchen. "Are you sure you're feeling ok Elle? You slept for almost 16 hours." Misty said, the concern evident on her face.

"I'm fine." Elliott said, the irritation in her voice prominent.

"I see we're crabby today." Mallory joked, getting a glare from Elliott.

"Dee wanted you to call her when ya got up." Misty said, breaking Elliott's glare.

"I'll talk to her when she gets home." Elliott responded coldly.

"I really think ya should call her Elle, she misses ya." Misty said gently, not wanting to upset the girl.

"She will literally be here tonight; I'm not worried about it." Elliott said, staring at Misty. It was obvious Elliott wasn't going to budge, so Misty dropped it, knowing the girl was one suggestion away from a blow up.

"Alright, alright," Misty said, putting her hands up to show her surrender, "You can talk ta her later, I'm gonna make some lunch and take the dog outside, you wanna help me?"

"No, I'm going to go read." Elliott said, turning on her heels and walking out of the room and to the library. She sat in there for the next hour, waiting for her moment to leave.

Right around 2, Misty approached the doorway, "Look what ya dog did ta me!" Elliott looked up and saw the older woman drenched in what she could only assume was dog pee. She chuckled slightly at the sight, which made Misty smile a little bit. "Thought that would cheer ya up." Elliott's face fell and she looked down at her book again, "Ya wanna talk about whats bothering ya?" Elliott shook her head no and Misty sighed. "Ok, well I'm gonna go shower this all off. We're havin' lasagna tonight, that ok?" Elliott nodded and the older witch smiled at her again before heading off to her room, then disappearing into the bathroom.

Elliott immediately jumped up when she heard the shower start running, walking quickly to her room and changing before she grabbed her backpack and tried to figure out where Mallory was. She creaked open the young woman's door to see she was taking a nap, making her escape that much easier. Now she could just walk out the front door, so that's exactly what she did. The street was empty, the reporters long gone, and Elliott quickly made her way to the bus station. Luckily for her, the bus she needed was just pulling up, so she hopped on and watched as she drove past the coven. If they had noticed she was gone by then, they weren't out looking for her. Elliott was surprisingly pleased on just how easy this whole thing was, like the universe was trying to help her. Maybe she was making the right choice, getting away from everyone.

She waited patiently until the bus had come to the right spot, getting off and making her way down to David's apartment. She was about to walk up to his door when she spotted his security. She had totally forgotten about them. Fuck. If they saw her she was toast, they would absolutely spill to Cordelia that Elliott had been there, they fucking worked for her. Elliott panicked for a moment, upset that her plan had been foiled, when she suddenly remembered something. During the testing for her abilities, she was able to control minds, make them do things. She hadn't done it since then, and she wasn't sure if she could do it on all of them, but she had to try. She looked at them from afar, focusing on getting one of them to do something. She easily managed to get one of them to raise their arms, then she tried for a second, and then a third. She managed to get five of them with their arms raised, but she was struggling to get the sixth, his arms raising slightly then falling back down. She tried again, mentally exhausting herself, and finally she got them all to do it. She laughed at herself, slightly proud, then went to work, getting each one to walk away from their post to the back of the building, putting it into their heads that they were taking a lunch break, but all at the same time.

Once the men were all out of sight, Elliott ran for the door, swinging it open and stepping inside, then closing and locking it behind her. "You good?" David asked, laughing at her.

"Do you know how hard it is to make six grown men all take a lunch at the same time? I need a nap." Elliott joked back.

"Probably just as hard as sneaking out of a house full of witches. Why are you here Elle? What was so important?" David asked, getting right to the point.

"I'm leaving." Elliott said plainly.

"You're what?" David asked, unsure he heard right.

"I'm leaving, I'm getting out of town, leaving New Orleans." Elliott said again, expanding a little.

"Why? You were supposed to try for six months Elle. What about the adoption?" David asked, concerned and a little angry. It was just like Elliott to sabotage the one good thing in her life.

"It's not happening," Elliott said, fishing the binder out of her backpack and handing it to David, "I read my file, look at the last page, front and back."

David gave her a funny look but opened the binder anyways, flipping to the last page. "Why am I looking at your birth certificate? I thought you didn't want to see it?"

"Look at the names at the bottom." Elliott said. David looked and you could see the confusion take over his face, "Now look at the back."

David did and saw the photograph, trying to piece together what was happening. "Wait, CORDELIA is your birth mom? No way."

"Yes way. And she wasn't ever going to tell me. This whole thing has been a lie, she just wanted me there so I would be on their side, something about how she doesn't think they can stop me, that I'm too dangerous. They were using me; they didn't actually care." Elliott said seriously.

"Elle, I don't think this whole thing was a lie. I know why you think that, but you didn't see Cordelia freaking out while you were in the hospital, she really loves you. Yea, her not telling you after all this is kind of fucked up, and you should be mad, but I don't think you have to LEAVE Elle. At least give her a chance to explain herself." David said, trying to talk Elliott off the ledge.

"David, come on she's manipulative as fuck. She only cares about keeping me there, on her side. She doesn't care about what I want. She put me on fucking house arrest for fucks sake." Elliott practically shouted.

"Elle, think about this. You have every right to be mad at her, but at least give her a chance to explain herself. You don't know what was going through her head. Sure she might be manipulating you, and she definitely has been lying to you, but what if it was because she was scared you would hate her? I mean, considering how you're acting I don't really blame her." David said, trying to reason with the girl.

"I wouldn't have acted this way if she didn't lie to me! She had so many times to tell me, fucking MONTHS. She could've told me in the hospital, or when she wanted to adopt me, but she didn't. She told everyone else and told them they had to keep her secret because I couldn't be trusted. EVERYONE knew but me." Elliott retorted.

"So tell her that. Be mad at her, scream at her, whatever. But she deserves to have some sort of explanation if you really are leaving, you owe her that." David said, sliding out his phone to see a message from Mallory. He knew Elliott wouldn't go back on her own, so he sent Mallory his address, knowing they would come find her.

"I don't want to talk to her. I just want to go. And I don't need you telling her either, this isn't yours to tell." Elliott said coldly.

"You're right, it's not mine to tell so I won't say anything to anyone. But you owe them an explanation Elle. You can't just disappear and leave them wondering." David said just as coldly. He knew Elliott was upset, but she didn't think clearly when she was like this, she had to be right all the time and she just wasn't here.

The two bickered until 6pm rolled around, Elliott staying far longer than she planned. David was just trying to buy time until Mallory arrived, and he was relieved when he heard a knock on the door. Elliott's face drained and she knew she had gotten herself caught, suddenly realizing all the arguing with David was an excuse to buy time. She stomped off toward the kitchen, trying to figure out how she was going to get out of going back to that house as David opened the door, Mallory stomping in. "Where is she?" David pointed towards the young girl and Mallory took off in that direction, David quietly slipping the binder back into Elliott's backpack as the older girl confronted her. "Come on, we're going home, get your stuff."

"I'm not going back." Elliott said forcefully.

Mallory turned to look at her, "Do you not realize the shitshow that's going on? You're lucky you made it here alive. They've been talking about taking girls in New Orleans, it's all over social media. Cordelia's freaking the fuck out, so yea you are going back."

"I don't want to be there, what part of that don't you get?" Elliott said harshly.

"Then you come back and you tell that to her. I was told to bring you home or don't come back. So I'm taking you home, you want to leave after that, that's on you." Mallory fired back, grabbing Elliott's hand and dragging her to the car as David gave her the backpack. "Do you know what her problem is?" Mallory asked David once Elliott was in the car.

Elliott shot David a glare, warning him to not say a word, "Yea I do, but it's not my place to tell. She's gotta do it. Take her home, don't let her get killed by Cordelia."

"No promises, Delia's way passed pissed." Mallory said seriously, getting into the drivers seat. "You want to tell me what this is about before we get back?" Elliott just sat in silence, glaring, "Guess not."

The ride back to the coven was dead silent, Mallory tried from time to time to coax some information from the girl, saying if she knew what was going on she could try to help her, but Elliott just stared straight ahead, her face hard as stone, her eyes glazed over in anger. Whatever this was, Mallory knew it was going to end badly, she could feel the power radiating off Elliott, the anger, the car was practically vibrating with all of her pent up aggression, and the older girl really didn't want to be there when she released it.

The car pulled into the driveway of the coven and parked, Mallory unlocking the doors and stepping out, but Elliott didn't budge. Part of her was scared as to what Cordelia was going to do, and Elliott hated that part, the part of her that still cared about the woman, even after everything she did. But the other part was her just being over it, not wanting to deal with the dramatics. It didn't matter if Cordelia yelled at her or cried or even chained her to her bed like she promised to do if Elliott left, Elliott would figure out a way to get out of there. Suddenly, the young girl was acting exactly like she did in foster care, numbing out all of her emotions except anger. Slowly, she stood from the car and made her way towards the door, trailing behind Mallory.

The two women stepped inside, Cordelia and Misty talking at the stairs in front of them, Cordelia's back to the young girl. Mallory closed the door and walked into the kitchen, wanting to be as far from the chaos that was about to ensue as possible. Elliott just stood in the entry way as Cordelia heard the door shut behind her, looking over her shoulder at the girl, her arms crossed and her eyes blazing. She whipped around and practically charged at the Elliott, Misty pulling her back a few feet in front of the girl, expecting Elliott to shrink back, but she just stood there, stone cold and staring at the supreme with glazed over eyes. The girl standing in front of the swamp witch looked nothing like the funny, sweet girl she had come to know over the past few weeks, she was a completely new person, a stranger.

"Where the FUCK have you been?" Cordelia screamed as Misty pulled her back. She waited a moment for Elliott to respond, but all she was met with was cold silence and a deadly glare. "Did I not make myself crystal fucking clear, or did you just not care?" More silence, Elliott not even blinking. "I told you not to leave this house, I didn't care the reason, and you just decided you weren't going to listen to me?" Cordelia said, still screaming just as loudly as she did with Madison when she got Elliott drunk. More silence, Elliott not breaking her cold stare, looking the supreme in the eyes. "You could have been killed! Do you not realize that? Do you have absolutely no fucking clue what's going on?" Elliott rolled her eyes, which only made the supreme angrier. "Do not do that." She said, her voice getting deathly low. "You are reckless, you are careless. You can't just do whatever you want when you want Elliott, you're fucking 15 years old, you are NOT an adult." Cordelia screamed. "I had to send Mallory out after you, put her life at risk. Do you not care about anyone else at all?"

Misty stared at the girl, looking for any sign as to what the girl was thinking, any remorse, but she saw nothing, just a blank slate. She felt the deep anger the girl had vibrating throughout the room, and it scared her a bit. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the window in the living room begin to shake. "Dee…" Misty said, warning the older woman, but she didn't care.

"No Misty, I'm not going to calm down. She left, when she was under strict orders not to for her OWN protection. I don't care if she had a bad day, I don't care if she needed a break, I don't care if the fucking HOUSE was burning down. She was to stay here and she knew that. She knew how serious I was, how scared we ALL were, and it didn't fucking matter, because she's going to do what she wants and to hell with everyone else." Cordelia screamed, her voice getting louder and carrying even more venom as her and Elliott stared each other down, neither breaking eye contact. "What do I have to do Elliott? Do I have to chain you to something? Lock you in your room? Because it's obvious you can't be trusted to actually follow directions or listen to me."

Elliott was numb, taking in the woman's venomous words. If Elliott had even an ounce of feeling, her tongue lashings would have hurt, but right now Elliott was bulletproof. Elliott stared at the supreme as she stopped to take a breath, then mad her way around the woman towards the stairs, heading up to her room. "I'm not done." Cordelia spat, grabbing Elliott's arm as she made her way up the stairs.

Elliott whipped around and ripped her arm from the woman's grasp as forcefully as she could, the vibrating window finally cracking under the pressure and exploding into the room, causing Misty and Cordelia to jump and look over at it. "Yes, we are." Elliott finally said with as much anger and venom as she could muster, her words cutting like the shards of glass that now littered the floor. Cordelia and Misty were still staring at the broken window, and Elliott took that moment to make her escape, walking up to her room and slamming the door, locking it behind her. She started pacing, seething with anger until she felt like she was going to explode. She caught a glance of herself in the mirror on top of her dresser, the locket the girls had gave her still around her neck. She stared for a moment before she lashed out, ripping the locket from her neck and whipping it across the room. She was quite literally vibrating with anger, and as she turned away from the mirror and started pacing again, the mirror cracked, but didn't fall. The lightbulbs in the room all light up impossibly bright, then they too shattered, exploding and littering the floor. Elliott didn't pay attention, still endlessly pacing, forcing herself to focus on what she was going to do now.

Downstairs, Mallory and Madison worked to clean up the broken glass as Misty attempted to calm Cordelia down, the older woman still fuming. "What the fuck is the matter with her?" Cordelia spat out.

"Dee, somethin' is wrong, like really wrong. She's not like this, ya know that. You need ta calm down and go talk ta her." Misty responded gently, recoiling slightly from the woman's anger, even though she knew it wasn't directed at her.

"No. I can't even look at her right now." Cordelia said, pacing. "How could she be so stupid?"

"She's not stupid Dee, she's 15. Somethin's not right, we're missing somethin'." Misty said, trying to figure out what could have possibly made Elliott so upset. "Maybe it has somethin' to do with her therapy."

"I don't care what it is Misty. She put everyone at risk. She planned this. She knew you wouldn't be able to contact me until we landed, this wasn't an accident." Cordelia said, her volume lowering, but her voice still sharp and calloused.

"You're right, this wasn't a accident. And you have every right ta be furious with her, she shouldn't have left. But that girl standin' there wasn't Elliott. I don't know who that was." Misty said, sitting on the steps. "She wasn't sad or upset Dee, she was furious. I could feel the anger radiatin' off'a her. What could we have done that would make her so mad?"

"We didn't DO anything. Elliott didn't get her way, that's what happened. Why the fuck have I been so lax with her? I should've seen this." Cordelia said, finally sitting down on the steps, shaking her legs beneath her.

"Dee, come on. I know you're mad at her, but let's be realistic here. When has Elliott EVER gotten mad that she didn't get her way?" Misty said, forcing the older woman to look up at her.

"She's spoiled. I let her get away with too much, it was only a matter of time before this happened." Cordelia said, still being stubborn.

"She IS spoiled, I'll give ya that much. But Dee, this isn't her, and ya know that. This is the same girl who sat up in ya office holding you while ya sobbed for hours, not once did she even think about leavin ya there. Elliott cares too much about our feelings to pull somethin' like this. She hates seeing you upset and ya know it. Something happened, and it must'a happened yesterday, that's when she started actin' weird." Misty said, trying to reason with the woman once again.

Cordelia knew she was right, this wasn't like Elliott at all, but she was still so angry. If she stopped to think about WHY Elliott left, that meant that she would start to feel guilty for the mean things she said to the girl, and she wasn't ready to face that yet. "I'm going to my office." Cordelia said sharply, standing up and walking up the stairs without giving Misty any time to say anything further. Misty let her go, knowing the woman needed some time to cool off.

Misty turned her gaze to Mallory, "Did she say anythin' ta ya?"

Mallory shook her head, "No, but there is something wrong. I asked David and he knew what it was, but he said she had to be the one to tell us."

This just made Misty more concerned. David was always the first one to tell them what was wrong, no matter how trivial it seemed. If he wasn't talking, it had to be something major. The swamp witch headed up the stairs and passed by Cordelia's office, the woman sitting at her desk with her head in her hands. She made her way to Elliott's door and knocked. "Elle?" She asked, "Let me in darlin'."

"Not now." Was all she got from the girl. Misty tried the door knob but it was locked, and she debated on whether or not she should push further.

"Elle, either ya open up or I'm comin' in, your choice." Misty said, her voice much more stern than before. She waited a few moments and didn't hear anything, so she said "Ok, guess I'm comin' in." Still no response, so she quickly unlocked the door with her mind, swinging it open to see the girl pacing back and forth, shaking with anger.

"I said not now." Elliott said sharply, her voice cracking at the end.

"Elle, baby ya walkin' on broken glass. Come sit down darlin'." Misty said, worried.

Elliott ignored her, continuing to pace and Misty cringed as she stepped directly on the broken glass. The older woman grabbed Elliott's arm and pulled her away from the shards, sitting her on the bed. Elliott complied and sat down, but immediately pulled herself away from Misty, situating herself on the opposite end of the bed, her back pressed against the wall. "I don't want to talk."

"I know. I'll sit here for as long as it takes til ya do though." Misty said softly. Elliott brought her knees to her chest, curling up as if to protect herself, and stared blankly ahead of her. Misty noticed the girl shaking, but she wasn't sure if it was out of fear or anger, so she just sat there in silence for a few moments until the young witch appeared to calm down a bit, trying again. "What's goin' on darlin'? This isn't like ya."

Elliott shook her head, "Maybe you don't know me all that well."

"I would like ta think I do. What's botherin' ya? I can't help ya if don't know." Misty said, scooting closer to the girl.

"You already do." Elliott said pointedly, getting a confused look from Misty. She wasn't angry at the older witch, she knew Misty had only recently found out, and she was one of the only people who thought Elliott had a right to know. If anyone could understand Elliott's anger, it was her.

"I do?" Misty asked, still not understanding. Elliott didn't respond, just shook her head then rested it on her knees, deciding whether or not to reveal herself to the older woman.

"Grab my backpack." Elliott whispered. Misty got up and did as she was told, stepping around the glass to grab it, then setting it back down on the bed next to Elliott. "Open it, there's a binder." Misty unzipped the bag and pulled out the binder as Elliott looked up at her.

"What's this?" Misty asked.

"My file. My therapist said I should read it to see if it jogs my memory, she thought it could help with my nightmares. I shouldn't have done it. I knew better." Elliott said honestly.

"Elle, this means nothin'. Don't let it bother ya so much, we all know its full of crap." Misty said, moving to put the binder down on the bed.

"Look at the last page." Elliott whispered. Misty looked at her confused but picked the binder back up, opening it and flipping through the pages until she was at the page in question.

She quickly scanned it, and her heart sunk as she spotted Cordelia's name scrawled out on the bottom. This was exactly what she was worried about, this was why she told Cordelia she needed to tell the girl. "Elle…"

Meanwhile, Cordelia had managed to calm herself down in her office, taking deep breaths to try and relax her. A wave of guilt spread over her, finally processing exactly what she screamed at the young girl. She tried to reason with herself that she was just upset, that she said things she didn't mean, but that didn't make them any less horrible or hurtful. She was scared out of her mind when Misty told her Elliott had left, running through every possible scenario as to what could happen to the witch, each one sending her further into a spiral. She couldn't help it, but she knew she still shouldn't have been as harsh with the girl as she was. Misty was right, something was wrong, but Cordelia couldn't understand what it could possibly be. What could have happened in the past 24 hours that would have caused this? And why was Elliott so mad at her?

Cordelia decided she needed to talk to Elliott, figure this whole thing out, regardless of if the girl wanted to talk to her or not. As she stood to make her way to Elliott's room, she caught her foot on the bottom drawer of her desk, pulling it out slightly. She went to push it back in and frowned, she always kept that drawer locked for that exact reason. She pulled the drawer out and saw it was empty, a knot quickly forming in the pit of her stomach. Where was Elliott's file? She tried not to panic, thinking if she gave the file to Elliott's therapist, but she didn't remember doing so, although everything that day had been a blur. She took a deep breath as panic washed over here, focusing on trying to locate the missing binder, her stomach dropping when she realized it was in Elliott's room. The supreme practically ran from the room, stopping in the hallway when she saw Elliott's bedroom door was wide open, Misty sitting with her back to her, the binder on the bed beside her. Cordelia watched as the two women conversed in front of her, Elliott just shaking her head every time Misty would try to say something, and the young girl spotted Cordelia, giving her a hard stare from over Misty's shoulder. Misty noticed the girl looking past her and turned her body, looking over her shoulder at Cordelia with a grim expression, Cordelia's heart sinking into the pit of her stomach as she realized what was all happening. Elliott had found out, and she was screwed.


	21. Chapter 21

Elliott watched the supreme's face change as she realized she was caught, and it wasn't what she expected it to be. She expected Cordelia to be cold about it, but honestly she just looked hurt, and that made Elliott even more angry. SHE'S hurt? Elliott was lied to and manipulated, SHE should be the one who's hurt.

Cordelia took a few steps towards Elliott's room, trying to come up with some explanation, "Elle…" Elliott jumped off the bed, shaking her head and walking out of her room, past the supreme, and down the stairs. She stopped to pick up Max and then disappeared, heading towards the greenhouse. Misty looked at Cordelia, waiting for her to say something, but she just stood there. What could she say? "What did she tell you?" Cordelia asked softly, tears forming in her eyes as she slowly made her way into the room, taking in its broken state.

"Not much, she just showed me the birth certificate. Apparently her therapist told her she should read her file, somethin' about it helpin' her with her nightmares. I tried ta talk with her about it, try ta explain, but she didn't want ta listen or say anythin' else. Then you walked out." Misty said, pulling Cordelia onto the bed with her.

"How did she find it? It was in my locked drawer, it didn't even have a label on it, none of my binders do, and no one knows where I keep the key. I don't get it." Cordelia said, confused as to how all of this went down.

"We've got eyes everywhere darlin'. I don't know how she found it, but she did." Misty said honestly.

Cordelia shook her head, "I should have burned it."

"No, what ya shoulda done is tell her in the first place. Then it wouldn't have mattered if she found the file cause ya weren't keepin' anythin' from her." Misty said seriously. She wasn't going to sugar coat it, Cordelia screwed up, and instead of admitting it she was making excuses.

"Did you see how she reacted? This is exactly why I didn't tell her, she hates me." Cordelia said frustrated.

"Do ya really think Elle is upset about you being her birth mom? I mean that might be part of it, don't get me wrong. But Dee, she's angry and hurt that ya lied ta her. It's not like ya didn't have the opportunity ta tell her, ya did but you were scared." Misty said, trying to make the older woman realize where she went wrong.

"So what do I do now? I can't take it back, and Elliott won't give me the time of day to explain myself," Cordelia began, her voice getting slightly louder, "God how did I fuck this up so badly?" Misty just shook her head. She didn't know what to do, it was obvious Elliott already thought she knew why the supreme lied to her, that had to be the reason she was so angry. How can you get through to someone who has already convinced themselves that they know better than you?

Meanwhile, Elliott was out in the greenhouse working on plants with Max. She didn't even really know if she was supposed to be out there, considering Cordelia's freak out earlier, but at this point Cordelia really didn't have any room to tell her what to do. Elliott was trying her best to keep up her cold, numbing anger that she had been using as her shield all day, but it was starting to fade, and now Elliott just wanted to cry. She reignited her anger with a hatred for herself for being so weak. Elliott had been through this before, being lied to and manipulated, she should be used to it. But then again, she was never lied to by someone she actually gave a shit about, and that's what was killing her.

"Hey loser, you stopped breaking shit yet?" Elliott heard behind her, causing her to jump and whip around. "Jesus Sabrina, relax. It's just me." Madison said, her eyes looking Elliott up and down curiously. "So what's your damage?"

Elliott rolled her eyes and turned around, "Nothing. Just leave me alone I'm not in the mood right now Maddie."

"Well it's either you talk to me or Cordi, take your pick." Madison said sarcastically.

"Can one of my options be throwing myself off the roof? Because I would rather do that." Elliott deadpanned.

"I mean you can try, but if you die you'll just get brought back." Madison said seriously, Elliott rolling her eyes. "I know what you need." Madison said as she walked over to a set of cabinets, opening them the pulling out the half drank whiskey they had from earlier, setting it in front of Elliott. "Take a swig." Elliott shook her head. "Come on, just do it. What's Cordelia going to do? Scream at you again? At this point I don't really think you give a fuck." Elliott stared for a moment but took a swig anyways, Madison was right, Elliott couldn't care less right now. "Good. Now, what are you mad about?" Elliott didn't say anything, "I'm not trying to help our dear supreme out, I just want the tea. She can clean up her own mess, it's not my job."

Elliott stared at Madison for a few moments before asking, "How long ago did she tell you she was my birth mom?"

"So she finally told you?" Madison asked back, ignoring the younger witches question.

"No, she didn't." Elliott said, her face hardening.

"Well that explains why she's upstairs crying like a baby to Misty." Elliott rolled her eyes, which Madison definitely noticed. "Alright, we're going to need some more booze if we're going to get into this."

"There's nothing to get into so don't worry about it." Elliott responded coldly.

"Look Elle, you have a right to be mad about it, she should've told you. But there's a lot more to it than that. So, we're going to have a chat, with booze." Madison said, heading back to the cupboard and grabbing two small glasses, pouring the whiskey into them and sitting back down next to Elliott, sliding her the glass. "So, obviously you're upset about more than just the fact that she lied to you, so what is it? You pissed she left you? Because trust me, she did you a favor, that dude was trash."

"I don't care that she's my birth mom, and to be honest I don't give a shit that she left me. She's lied to me this whole time about EVERYTHING. She didn't actually want anything to do with me, she just wanted to keep me here so I didn't become a problem for her." Elliott spit out, her words dripping with venom. She paused for a moment, realizing she still didn't know what Cordelia had told the council, and she turned to Madison curiously, "I need you to let me do something."

"What?" Madison asked, "You need to break some shit?"

"No, I need to look at your memories. It's one of my abilities, I can get inside of people's heads and look at that shit. I want to see what she's said." Elliott said truthfully.

"What does it matter?" Madison asked, not missing a beat despite the girl's revelation.

"It just does. I don't want her to try and cover anything up, to hide anything to make herself look better. I already looked at Misty's and Mallory's. I know she brought me here because she thought I was dangerous and knew if I went against you guys she couldn't stop me." Elliott said, already starting to push inside Madison's head.

"Fine, do it. But you aren't going to find anything." Madison said, curious to see how the girl's ability worked.

Elliott didn't respond, she was already busy searching through the older girl's memories, trying to pick out which one it was. She finally landed on a council meeting from when she first arrived, playing the memory back before Madison's eyes.

"Elliott is my daughter, that's part of the reason why she's here and needs to stay here. There's also a problem with her. My powers have no effect on her, I've tried. She's half witch hunter, which should have meant she wouldn't have abilities at all considering true witch hunters have a block against magic for protection, but it's manifested itself a little differently and instead she has both abilities."

"So what does that mean exactly?"

"Hopefully, nothing. As long as she learns to control her abilities and learns that we aren't the enemy, she's fine. If things go wrong though it could be dangerous. Or if the witch hunters get ahold of her and convince her to help them. If she sees us as the enemy, it's a problem. We need to keep her here, no matter what, if for nothing else our own protection."

"Does she know she can do this?"

"No, not that I know of, and she won't if I can help it."

Elliott pulled back, not wanting to see anything else. Suddenly it made sense why Cordelia had always been so adamant about her staying at the coven, about controlling her; it was because she knew she couldn't control her magically. Elliott tried to think of a time one of the witches had used their powers on her, but the only thing she could think of was Mallory healing her, and even that she couldn't do easily. Suddenly she regretted looking in everyone's head, she didn't want to see this shit, she just wanted to be left alone. The amount of complications and lies in this whole thing made her head spin. She was half witch hunter? Talk about science experiment gone wrong. Elliott made eye contact with Maddie, who just stared at her curiously, and took a big swig of her drink, relishing in the burning feeling as it was going down. "You ok?" Madison asked.

"No." Elliott replied, taking another swig.

"Listen, none of us agreed with her choice not to tell you, we all thought you should've found out at some point before this, but it wasn't ours to tell you. It had to come from Cordelia." Madison said softly.

"Ha, she was never going to tell me. Not if she could help it. She doesn't care, she just wants to keep you all safe, that was the whole point of this." Elliott sneered, the anger rising once again.

"Listen, I'm the last person to advocate for Cordelia, she and I have never really gotten along. And from what you've seen, you have every right to be mad at her, it looks bad. At the beginning yea, she was worried about the coven and that was her main priority. But things changed Elle, her main priority became you, and everyone knows it. She loves you, regardless of whatever lies she told you or whatever you think she did." Madison said truthfully.

Elliott scoffed, "She doesn't love me, she manipulated me, she just wanted to keep me here."

"Elliott, let's be real here. Cordelia is a soft bitch. She sucks at lying, she cries all the time, she's definitely not "Manipulator" material. I mean, you knew something was off the ENTIRE time you were here. If she really was working that hard to keep you in the dark, don't you think she would have done a better job of it?" Madison asked, trying to get through to the girl. "I get it, you've dealt with a lot of bad shit in your life, and you're expecting the worst. But don't throw away the best thing that's ever happened to you over something like this, at the very least hear what she has to say, and actually LISTEN Elle."

Elliott just stared at her while the older girl picked up the empty glasses and slipped them back into the cabinet along with the bottle of whiskey. She knew Madison was right, but she wanted to be angry, she needed to be angry, because if she wasn't angry that meant she was going to be hurt and upset and cry, and she didn't want to cry, anger was easier to deal with. Madison excused herself and headed back to the house, leaving Elliott outside alone once again, but this time at least she had a good strong buzz going, that was making her feel a little better.

Elliott stayed out in the greenhouse for a little while longer, it was getting late and she needed to go to bed. She picked Max up and hoped that everyone had magically gone to sleep early that night, but somehow she doubted it. Her doubts were confirmed when she stepped inside the kitchen through the side door, hearing Misty and Cordelia softly talking in the living room. She shut the door behind her and quickly the living room went silent, waiting for her to appear in the doorframe. Elliott took her time coming into view, choosing to grab a glass of water and something small to eat before she did. She was nervous and you could tell, her hands shaky and her thoughts jumbled as she prepared for what was to come.

Cordelia and Misty sat in the other room silent, waiting for what was to come next. Elliott didn't appear for a while, but in that time she was moving around the kitchen her abilities were misfiring, showing Cordelia memories before her eyes, but this time they weren't her memories, they were Elliott's. Cordelia wasn't even sure if the girl knew what she was doing, and she wasn't going to alert her of it, it was the only way the supreme could get a sense of how the girl was feeling and what exactly was going on. The memories came in quick flashes, Spalding telling Elliott where the key was, him saying she looked like Fiona, Elliott's conversation with David about how Cordelia was using her, a few brief memories from her foster homes that Cordelia couldn't make any sense of. The two older women could feel the power radiating throughout the whole house, making the pictures on the wall vibrate slightly. It scared Cordelia, the last time she had felt Elliott's powers like this, her anger, was the night at the corner store. The supreme felt like she was back at square one with the girl, and a large part of her feared she would never be able to get back to where they were, all of their hard work ruined in a split second.

Elliott finally appeared in the doorway, Misty looking up at her and smiling softly while Cordelia looked away. Partly it was because Cordelia didn't want the girl to see her red rimmed eyes, and partly it was that the supreme didn't think she could handle seeing the girl look at her with such disgust, she was about one wrong look away from a meltdown, desperately trying to keep her shit together long enough to actually talk to the young witch.

Elliott moved to put Max back in his pen and started to make her way towards the stairs, Misty stopping her in her tracks. "Elle, could ya come sit down please?"

Elliott turned and looked at her for a minute, debating on whether she should even bother. "I'm tired; I want to go to bed. We can talk tomorrow."

"Elliott, please.." Cordelia said softly, her voice thick with tears, cracking at the end as she looked towards the girl.

Elliott looked at the older woman and saw the tear tracks down her face, her eyes a bright red, and suddenly she felt very VERY guilty. She was trying to uphold her "I don't care" façade, but it was quickly crumbling. As much as Elliott tried to force herself to believe Cordelia didn't care about her, that this was all a plan to keep the young witch to stay, she knew it wasn't. It was easier for Elliott to believe that it was though, because then she could completely detach herself from this woman, from this place. When actual feelings got involved, that's where it got complicated. So, Elliott nodded softly and went to sit down in one of the chairs, choosing the one on the opposite end from the supreme. Elliott couldn't avoid the conversation any longer, so she was going to have to face it head on.

The three of them sat in silence for a moment, no one wanting to be the first person to speak. Elliott looked over at Misty, wondering why she was even there if no one was going to speak. Misty looked over at Cordelia, who was just staring at the mug in her hands, and offered her a small, "Dee?"

Cordelia sat there for a moment, thinking of what to say. She had no excuse, no good reason why all of this was happening, it was her fault. Her own stupidity had gotten her into this, her own fears, and she didn't know how to make the girl understand that. All that she could offer the girl was a small, quiet, "I'm sorry..." Elliott looked away from her as the older woman started to cry again. "I was going to tell you, I was, I just didn't know how. I was stupid, there's no excuse for it."

Elliott paused for a moment, taking in what the supreme was telling her. "Why didn't you tell me?" She asked softly, the edge gone from her voice.

"Because of this, I knew you would react like this. I didn't want you to hate me for everything that's happened. And I knew if I told you, you would." Cordelia said truthfully, wiping at her tears as she looked up at the girl.

Elliott looked at her confused for a moment, trying to understand what the supreme was telling her. "I don't blame you for what happened, and I'm not upset that you're my birth mom. I don't care about any of that. I reacted this way because you lied to me for MONTHS. Hell, if you had even told me before you left I still wouldn't have been mad, but you didn't, I had to find it on my own. That's why I'm angry." She said, her voice regaining its slight edge. Did Cordelia really not understand at all?

"Elle…" Misty began.

"No, she had plenty of times she could have told me, and she didn't. She lied to me about Fiona, she lied about knowing my parents, and for what? So I would stay here and she could make sure I didn't destroy the coven? Everything, since the moment I got here has been a lie. Everyone knew but me. The only person who was actually honest with me was fucking Spalding, and he's fucking DEAD." Elliott spit out, getting angrier by the second.

"Elle, she wasn't hiding it ta hurt you, I promise ya that babe. She wanted ta protect ya. That's all any of us were tryin' to do. She loves ya and she was scared, she didn't want ta lose ya." Misty tried to reason with the younger girl.

"No, she wanted to protect the coven, that's all any of this was about. She didn't care about me." Elliott spewed out, causing everyone to look at her.

Cordelia was on the verge of sobbing, she had no idea what to do. Nothing she could say would convince the girl she was wrong. How was she supposed to prove she cared about Elliott more than she cared about herself? "I didn't know Fiona was seeing you, I really didn't." She began, "I was furious she didn't tell me, because if she had I would have gotten you out of there in a second, and she knew that. She hid it from me. And I should have been honest and told you then, but I was scared, and that doesn't make it right and it doesn't make it ok. I screwed up, and I know that. But me caring about you? That wasn't a lie. I love you Elle, and that's not going to change. Yes, I did bring you here because I thought you were dangerous, and I didn't expect anything to come of it, but it did. And I'm sorry I lied to you and I'm sorry I made you feel like this, I should've trusted you more. Hell, it wasn't even that I didn't trust you, I didn't trust myself. Because I knew that I shouldn't have given you up in the first place, it wasn't what I wanted, and I knew that everything that happened to you was my fault. None of it would have happened if you were here with me, and it fucking killed me. You should blame me, I blame me."

Elliott just sat there, she didn't know what to say. She knew at least most of what Cordelia was saying was true, that she really didn't know Fiona was in her life, that Cordelia blamed herself for everything that had happened, but Elliott still was furious that the supreme lied to her. She didn't know how she would get over that, or if she ever would. Cordelia looked her in the eyes and saw all the hurt that was written across her face, and she completely broke down in sobs, hating herself for everything that had happened. There wasn't anything she could do to fix this, to prove to the girl that she actually did care, all she could do was try to prove it to the girl in the future, if Elliott would even let her. Cordelia felt powerless, destroyed by her own actions.

Misty did her best to comfort the woman, but there wasn't much she could do but hold her. She couldn't make this go away, she couldn't fix things between Cordelia and Elliott, all she could do was be there for them and try to get them to talk to each other. She looked over at Elliott and saw tears streaming down her face as well, they were both hurting.

Misty offered a hand to Elliott but Elliott shook her head. Elliott could see how much this was tearing up Cordelia, and it made her feel awful, she didn't deserve that. As much as Elliott wanted to be mad and tell the older woman she never wanted to see her again, that they were done, she couldn't walk away, not when Cordelia was like this. So Elliott stood and motioned for Misty to scoot over, sitting down next to the supreme and pulling the older woman to her and letting her cry, Cordelia clinging to her for dear life, repeating "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.." Over and over again. Elliott was still angry, and she still would continue to be, but not right now. Right now Cordelia needed her, and so she was going to be there. Elliott wasn't sure what was going to happen between the two of them going forward, but she decided they would just take it one day at a time.

Elliott held the woman for a while until she calmed down, whispering to her "It will be ok, it's ok." Elliott knew the woman didn't do this to hurt her, and if Elliott were in her position she would have done the same thing. She didn't want to risk losing her, so she lied, and Elliott didn't completely blame her for that. Elliott knew better than anyone that she was unpredictable, that she reacted dramatically to very small things, so something like this absolutely could have sent her over the edge. It was partly her fault, she didn't open up to anyone, didn't really let anyone get close enough to understand exactly how she worked, but she did like to think she was trying. The three women sat there until they had all calmed down, then they went off to bed silently. Nothing else was spoken, nothing was fixed, they just left it, deciding it could wait until another day.

The next few weeks were tense, Elliott and Cordelia barely speaking, not that it was on purpose necessarily. Cordelia had been busy with the council and making sure everyone was safe, hiring round the clock security for the house and for all the members, even the girls and boys at home for the summer. There had been a slew of other crimes that were committed against them, but none of them resulted in any real injury to members of the coven, just things that shook them all to the core. No one really left the house anymore, not unless it was absolutely necessary, and no one came in except for Zoe and Elliott's therapist, not even David. Elliott had spent most of her time in the greenhouse with Misty or training Max, who was now completely potty trained. Queenie, Mallory and Madison were all helping Zoe plan her wedding with Kyle, so everyone had sort of found something to occupy their time while being trapped inside the fence.

Elliott had just finished her weekly therapy session, which had quickly turned from dealing with her past to dealing with Cordelia's revelation. They had spent the past three weeks dealing with how Elliott felt, and how she was going to proceed, and really they hadn't gotten anywhere, just going in circles. A large part of Elliott wanted to just close herself back off, to call off the adoption altogether and just be a student at the school, nothing more, but Elliott's therapist thought that would do more harm than good, that by closing herself off she wasn't properly dealing with it. Elliott sort of agreed, but actually dealing with it would be more difficult, and Elliott found she really didn't trust Cordelia at all anymore. How could they go through with the adoption when she was feeling like that? The therapist agreed that the adoption should be put on hold, and even recommended they do a joint session, but Elliott didn't want to do that, Cordelia was too busy and Elliott just wanted to avoid the whole thing, not wanting to risk the supreme melting down again.

The therapist moved on and started discussing Elliott's past once again, trying to figure out why Elliott had such a hard time trusting people, especially ones who seemed to actually care. Elliott freely discussed this, talking about all the abusive homes she was in and the first family she was placed with who wanted to adopt her, but didn't. It became clear that Elliott didn't have just an issue with Cordelia, she couldn't trust anyone, she purely wasn't capable after everything she had been through, her emotions numbed out from all her previous homes. This wasn't uncommon with kids who grew up in foster care, but it was still alarming. Most kids at least understood that what they were doing was unhealthy, but Elliott didn't seem to see it as unhealthy at all, in fact she was almost proud of it, like it was a badge of honor.

The two finished their therapy session and off the therapist went, leaving Elliott alone once again. The young girl stayed in the library, choosing to do some research about witch hunters, find out a little bit on where exactly she came from. She didn't want to ask Cordelia about it, so she decided she would look into it on her own. She sat there reading for a few hours, trying to take in as much as she could, and by the time she was done she felt more confused than before. Witch hunters sole purpose in life was to kill witches, they hated them, so how did she get here?

She was roused out of her thoughts by a knock on the door, and was surprised to see Cordelia standing there. "Uh, dinners ready, you want to go down?"

Elliott nodded and stood up heading towards the door but stopping when Cordelia didn't move, "What?"

Cordelia looked at her apprehensively, obviously needing to say something else, but you could tell she was nervous. "The council has to go to California to meet with the boys school, talk over the new security. We leave tomorrow."

"Ok, you have that chain ready to tie me to my bed?" Elliott joked, not really understanding why the supreme was being so weird.

Cordelia let out a small laugh, the tension breaking a bit before she said, "No, I don't even think a chain will stop you from leaving, you'll take the whole bed with you. I'm taking you with me."

The meaning behind what she said was crystal clear: Elliott couldn't be trusted to be left here, so she was bringing her with her. Elliott's face fell but she nodded, motioning for the supreme to head down the stairs to the other girls. She wasn't angry, she understood why this was happening, it didn't make it any less hurtful though.

Dinner went off as normal, Madison and Queenie complaining about Zoe's choices for her wedding, Mallory and Misty discussing new herbal remedies they found, and Cordelia and Elliott trying to include themselves in the conversations, although the two of them never were involved in the same one. They shared a few glances from across the table, but that was it. Dinner wrapped up and they all went their separate ways, Elliott heading to play with Max in the living room.

While Elliott was busy playing tug of war with the small dog, Cordelia grabbed herself a glass of wine and went to sit on the couch, watching them for a moment. "Where did his pen go?" She asked softly, getting the girl to look up at her.

"He doesn't need it anymore so we put it away, it was taking up a lot of space." Elliott responded, laughing when Max managed to pull the rope away from her, swinging it back and forth in his mouth.

"Why doesn't he need it? He can't wander the house until he's trained Elle." Cordelia said confused.

"He is trained; he's been trained for two weeks now." Elliott responded, grabbing the rope from Max and tugging on it once again.

"You trained him already? Jeez, where have I been?" Cordelia said, finally realizing just how much she had missed.

"On the phone with angry men in your study. It was pretty easy to train him, not like we had a whole lot to do around here, so it was either do that or throw myself off the roof." Elliott joked.

The supreme chuckled a bit, settling into the couch and watching the dog fight for the rope, knocking himself over onto his back as Elliott pulled the rope towards her, dragging him along with it. "When did he get so big? He was like the size of my hand two weeks ago, now he's an actual puppy."

"I know right? He grew overnight, I thought someone switched him out. My bet's on Madison, she hates him." Elliott said, obviously joking but her tone was serious.

"Madison does not HATE him. She just doesn't show emotion, it's different." Cordelia joked back.

"She tried to throw him out with the trash last week!" Elliott said loudly, whipping her head around towards the supreme.

"Did she really?" Cordelia asked, stunned.

Elliott nodded as Max let go of the rope, walking away from Elliott and jumping on the couch with Cordelia. "Well I guess he's done." She said with a chuckle tossing the rope to the side. "How long are we going for by the way, to California?"

"A week, if I can make it that long before I kill them all. If not, three days and then four days of vacation." Cordelia joked, getting up to get another glass of wine.

"I think the four days of vacation would kill you more, you're a workaholic." Elliott joked back.

"I am NOT a workaholic." Cordelia said as she disappeared into the kitchen. While everything seemed to be normal between the two of them, it wasn't. Sure they were joking around, but Cordelia knew Elliott was still closed off. She hadn't even mentioned therapy earlier or anything about herself, choosing instead to make lighthearted jokes, not that the supreme had really tried to open up the conversation.

"You absolutely are." Elliott said seriously as the supreme came to sit back down, causing the older woman to roll her eyes.

"How was therapy?" Cordelia asked, gauging the girl's reaction to see where they stood.

"Fine." Elliott said off handedly, not giving up much else.

"You talk to David recently?" Cordelia tried again, hoping the girl would give more than a one-word answer.

"Yea, he's ok." Elliott responded, still not making eye contact. David was not ok, he had lost his job at the corner store and was struggling to pay his rent, but Cordelia didn't need to know that. The best way for the two women to proceed was to keep things as surface level as possible, Elliott wasn't ready to open back up to the woman, at least not yet.

"What were you reading earlier? You seemed pretty immersed in it?" Cordelia asked, trying her best to turn the conversation to more than just some jokes.

Elliott hesitated before answering, she wasn't sure exactly how much Cordelia knew she knew, "Oh, yea. It was just about witch hunters and stuff. It was pretty good."

Cordelia slowly nodded as her heart sunk into the pit of her stomach, Madison had told her she showed Elliott her memories, that Elliott knew she was half witch hunter. "Anything you want to ask me about?"

"No, not really, it's pretty self-explanatory." Elliott responded. There were things she wanted to ask, but not anything that wouldn't be extremely invasive. It hadn't gone unnoticed that Cordelia never brought up Hank, and Elliott didn't feel right forcing her to hash all that out, she could find things out on her own.

The conversation lulled and the two sat in silence for a few minutes until Cordelia spoke. "Elle… What do I have to do?" She asked softly, getting the younger girl to look up at her.

Elliott was slightly confused by the question, but the realization of what the supreme was asking quickly hit her, and she shook her head. "There's nothing to do."

"There has to be something, I hate this." Cordelia said softly.

"We're fine." Elliott responded quietly, knowing they really weren't.

"No, we aren't. You don't trust me and its obvious and I don't blame you, I just want to fix it." Cordelia said truthfully, her voice wavering.

Elliott shook her head once again before saying, "It's just something I have to work on, it's not you, really. I have to go pack for tomorrow, we leave pretty early."

Cordelia watched the girl as she walked upstairs into her room, feeling defeated. They really were starting over, but this time Cordelia knew exactly what she was missing out on, and it killed her. She stood up and went to the kitchen, grabbing the whole bottle of wine before resumed her position on the couch, drinking the remainder of it herself as she sat and listened to the girl shuffle around upstairs. She went to grab another as she saw the girl's light turn out, it now well past 10pm, and she sat by herself, drinking the other bottle until she was definitely intoxicated. She was at a loss for what to do, nothing she said was good enough, nothing she did would make the girl truly understand how sorry she was and show her how much she cared, absolutely nothing. All she could do was hope Elliott would eventually come around, and she didn't know if she could wait that long.

She sat drinking by herself until 2 am when she heard a blood curdling scream erupt from upstairs in Elliott's room, and she quickly took off to see what was wrong, flinging open the door and seeing the girl sitting straight up in bed, sobbing uncontrollably. She moved toward the bed and Elliott quickly backed herself into the corner, curling up into a ball and shielding herself from the woman. "Elle? Sweetie what happened?"

Elliott didn't respond, just continued sobbing as the supreme tried to talk to her. She wasn't even fully aware of where she was, all she knew was the crippling fear that was consuming her.

She remembered, she finally remembered what happened in her fourth home, and suddenly she wished she had never tried to remember, because not knowing was so much better than this. She didn't want to have to explain to Cordelia that her foster parents hated her, that they would beat the shit out of her whenever they were drunk or high, and she definitely didn't want to have to explain that whenever she was in trouble or they just didn't want her around, they would lock her in a cabinet under the sink and give her drugs to keep her quiet. She didn't want to explain her deathly fear of needles, or that she had almost OD'd twice while they were having a party. She didn't want to explain how scared she was whenever they gave her something new, or how she used to claw at her own eyes whenever they would give her heroin. She didn't want to talk, or speak, or move, or exist. She didn't have the energy to deal with Cordelia or anyone, she just wanted to be left alone, forever.

Cordelia kept trying to talk to her but she just kept sobbing, and it went on for hours until her entire face hurt and her throat burned. The woman eventually gave up on talking, instead grabbing the girl and pulling her towards her, letting her sob in her lap as she stroked her hair and rubbed circles soothingly on her back. Delia didn't know what to do, she hadn't had a nightmare this bad in over a month, and she had absolutely no idea what it could be about. The girl's sobs quieted down, replaced with soft hiccups and Cordelia tried to talk to her again, but still got no response, so the two sat in silence for a while.

Elliott felt guilty for not responding to the older woman, but she truly didn't know what to say. She knew Cordelia would want some sort of explanation, but she didn't have one to give. How was she supposed to explain this?

Elliott sat up in bed, pulling away from the woman, and wiped her eyes with her hands, still battling with her hiccups. Cordelia noticed how glazed over the girl's eyes looked. "I'm sorry. I'm ok now, you can go, really." The young girl offered her.

"You are not ok, and I'm not going anywhere." Cordelia began, stunned. How could Elliott think Cordelia would just walk away when she was so obviously upset? "Talk to me Elle. What was the dream about?"

Elliott shook her head and placed it in her hands, resting her elbows on her knees. "I don't want to talk about it."

"You never want to talk about, but you have to Elle. I can't help you if I don't know what's going on." Cordelia said softly, trying to reason with the girl.

"I'm not going to talk about it, it will just make you upset." Elliott responded, clearly agitated.

"It might, but that's ok. I can handle it. What was the dream about? When you were in foster care?" Cordelia responded, trying to feign strength. Elliott didn't want the supreme to blame herself, that much was clear, but Elliott shouldn't be bottling it all up just to keep the older woman from being upset, that wasn't her job.

Elliott nodded at her, but didn't offer much else, still trying to process. "Elle?" The supreme tried again. She wasn't leaving until Elliott at least gave her something to go on, and she wasn't leaving the girl when she was obviously still upset, even if that's what Elliott wanted.

"I just want to go to bed. You should too. We can talk about it later." Elliott finally said, her voice letting the supreme know there was no room to press further.

Cordelia sighed, but conceded under one condition, "Fine. But you're staying with me tonight. No exceptions."

Elliott threw her a glare and the woman just glared back, a silent standoff until Elliott finally stood from the bed, giving in and motioning for the supreme to move along. The two slowly made their way to Cordelia's room and Elliott didn't hesitate to get into bed and pull the covers completely over her, turning away from the supreme's side as Cordelia got into pj's. "Goodnight." Cordelia said softly but jokingly, laughing to herself a bit about the broody teenager's antics.

"Night." Elliott replied quietly as the supreme got into bed, turning out the light behind her. Cordelia kept herself awake until the girl was asleep next to her, and she found she was literally watching the girl breathe, looking for any signs of distress. She hated that Elliott wouldn't talk to her, and she hated feeling so distanced from the girl, but she knew it was her own doing. She laid down and beat herself up a bit more for the events that transpired, something she had done every day since they had occurred. Cordelia wanted nothing more than to fix it, but she knew she couldn't. She stayed up until the sun began to rise, then finally fell asleep knowing she could only get a few hours of good sleep before they had to leave.


	22. Chapter 22

The next morning was complete and utter chaos. Cordelia woke up with the worst hangover of her life, her head pounding as she tried to pack her things as quickly as possible. None of the girls besides Elliott had packed, and they all woke up late, running around the house looking for items they had lost. They all ran out of the house and barely managed to get to the airport on time, walking up to their gate right as the flight attendant announced last call. None of them had eaten and they all were crabby, groaning from the moment they left the house. Luckily once they were all in their seats Elliott pulled out a bag of snacks which they all devoured before the plane had even taken off, Cordelia and Elliott on one side of the isle and Queenie, Zoe and Madison on the other.

The five of them prepared for takeoff and Elliott suddenly got very anxious. She didn't understand why, everyone else seemed fine, but Elliott had never been on a plane before and suddenly she was terrified. The cabin was too small and there were too many people and she was starting to freak out. Elliott had never had an issue with being claustrophobic before, and she mentally beat herself up for being so worried, people got on planes all the time, there was nothing to be worried about. Sure, the plane could crash, but so could a car and Elliott was perfectly fine with that. The more she thought about it the more worried she became, retreating from the conversation with the girls and fiddling with her backpack in front of her, getting lost in her thoughts until Cordelia was talking to her. "Elle?" The older woman said, "You have to put on your seatbelt babe."

Elliott looked up at her and nodded, strapping her seatbelt. It seemed pointless to wear a small strip of fabric while they were hurtling through the sky, it's not like it really protected them from anything anyways, but Elliott still obliged.

Cordelia noticed the young witch was a little off, her face was pale and she always had the same look on her face when she was nervous about something, but was pretending not to be. Her face went lax but her eyes were always a little too wide, giving her fears away. "You ok?" Cordelia asked softly.

Elliott looked over at her and nodded, "I just don't get why seatbelts are necessary. If this thing goes down I doubt this little strap will save us from dying, we're already screwed."

Cordelia chuckled a little bit, "It definitely won't, if we go down there's no saving us." She paused for a moment waiting for the other girl to laugh, but she just gave an unsure smile, so Cordelia offered her hand. "I hate flying. A giant metal tube hurtling through the sky? Whose bright idea was that? Takeoffs are the worst of it, it gets better once we're actually in the air."

Elliott hesitated for a moment but took the woman's hand, justifying it to herself that it was more for Cordelia's benefit than hers. The flight attendant played the safety video, which did nothing to qualm Elliott's fears, if anything it just made them worse. Luckily Elliott herself didn't feel too cramped, there was no one else sitting in their row with them so there was an open seat between Elliott and Cordelia, Elliott choosing the window seat and staring out it as the plane started to move. Once the plane started gaining speed Elliott looked away from the window and stared at the back of the seat in front of her, trying to keep her emotions in check. Cordelia noticed, and offered her hand a gentle squeeze, to which Elliott gave a small squeeze back.

Cordelia felt incredibly guilty. She knew Elliott had likely never been on a plane before, but she had never once stopped to think that Elliott might actually be afraid of flying. Cordelia was too focused on her own needs to even think about Elliott's, and now looking back on it she felt terrible for forcing the girl to come with her

After takeoff was over Elliott started to relax, but only slightly. While the other girls were talking and giggling Elliott instead pulled out a book and began reading, wanting to disappear and not talk as much as possible. Cordelia left her alone, knowing everyone dealt with their anxieties differently, and the first half of the flight went smoothly. The second part of the flight is when things got dicey. About 2 ½ hours into the flight the plane went through a storm, which already freaked Elliott out as she saw bolts of lightning bounce of the wings. Cordelia tried to get Elliott to look away and pull the shutter over the window so she couldn't see them, but not seeing what was going on only made Elliott more terrified, so the window stayed open. Elliott was trying to quell her anxieties but the storm really wasn't helping. It was easier when everything was fine and sunny outside, but the dark skies and flashes of light just made Elliott feel like she was about to die, and she tried desperately to keep herself from having a panic attack.

During the last part of the flight they hit some really bad turbulence and everyone had to fasten their seatbelts once again. The cabin got deathly quiet as the plane shook, an audible gasp escaping every once in a while. One time the plan shook so hard everyone fell forward in their seats, Cordelia immediately shooting her arm out to stop Elliott from smashing her face into the seat in front of her. The gesture was sweet, but Cordelia's arms weren't long enough to actually reach the girl, her hand barely meeting the outer third of Elliott's chest.

Once the plane finally landed the girls collectively let out a breath they hadn't been realizing they were holding, looking over at each other and giggling a bit. Elliott wanted to be out of there as soon as possible, and she decided her greatest accomplishment that day had been not dying or crying, and that was enough for her to call it a day and go to sleep. They got off the plane and had a car waiting for them, Madison joking as they got into the car, "That was the WORST flight I've ever been on. Poor Elliott almost shit her pants."

"Madison." Cordelia said sternly.

"Elliott it's fine, don't pay attention to her, you did great. Miss superstar over here nearly cut off my circulation she was squeezing my hand so tight, AND she bit my shoulder." Queenie said, lifting up her shirt so everyone could see the bite marks.

"That was an accident! We hit that bad bump and my face got shoved down, don't flatter yourself." Madison said, obviously offended.

"With your mouth open? Is that why you clamped down onto it?" Queenie retorted, causing everyone to laugh.

"Alright everyone settle down. We still have things to do today." Cordelia began, getting a groan from all of the girls. "Believe me, no one wants to do them less than I do, but we can't even check into the hotel for a few hours so we might as well get it over with."

"Do we really have to deal with the bratty boys? Come on can't we just tell them to fuck off and go get a pedicure or something? How about lunch? Everyone's starved." Madison whined.

Cordelia rolled her eyes but for a brief moment she actually considered it. She hated dealing with the warlocks, they acted like children all the time and threw fits no matter the circumstance. But, she wanted to get this over with, the sooner they finished their meetings the sooner they could all actually relax. "They have food there, although I wouldn't recommend actually eating it. We're here for a reason girls, it's not just for fun."

The girls all collectively rolled their eyes, letting out a sigh. "Of course, you want to work. Don't you ever have fun Cordi?" Madison snarked.

Elliott laughed at that one and Cordelia looked at her with narrow eyes, obviously joking. "I have fun."

"No you don't." Elliott laughed, obviously in a better mood than earlier.

"Yes I do!" Cordelia retaliated, trying to act offended but giving herself away with a smile creeping on her lips.

"No, you're a workaholic. When's the last time you actually went out and did something that wasn't coven related? Or got laid for Christ's sake?" Madison joked, causing Cordelia to blush and look uncomfortable.

"See? I'm not the only one who thinks you're addicted to work!" Elliott said, trying to turn the conversation away from Cordelia's sex life.

Cordelia rolled her eyes playfully at Elliott, she knew they were right, she hadn't done anything "fun" since before she was the supreme. There was just never any time for it. "We're going, end of discussion."

"Is there even anywhere to go? Didn't Hawthorne get burned to the ground?" Elliott asked, genuinely curious.

"They rebuilt underground." Cordelia responded.

"Oh, so were going to a fallout shelter. That should be fun." Elliott said sarcastically, making everyone in the car laugh.

Hawthorne indeed did resemble a fallout shelter, with dark cement walls and a creepy atmosphere. Cordelia had briefly introduced Elliott to the men in charge of the school, but she didn't bother to remember their names, all of them just looked like whiney babies, and Elliott didn't really feel like getting to know them was necessary. Cordelia started the council meeting and left Elliott on her own to wander, so Elliott quickly went in search of the library she knew they had to have. The school was like a maze, with long corridors that didn't make the dimly lit place any less creepy, and she was expecting a monster to jump out at every dead end. Finally, she located the library and began scanning the walls for a good book to read to pass the time. "Who are you?" She heard from behind her, making her jump and whip around to face a group of boys. "Jumpy are we?"

"In a place like this it's kind of hard not to be. I'm Elliott, I'm with the council." She said, offering a hand to the boys, the lead boy shaking it.

"Council huh? So you must be a witch. I'm Trevor and this is Sparrow and Felix. Shouldn't you be with the council?" Trevor asked.

"I'm not actually on the council, I'm more like their prisoner. I don't really do well with following rules so they took me with them." Elliott joked.

"Rule breaker, I like it. You been at the academy long?" Trevor asked. He was tall and charming, but Elliott could see right through him.

"Few months, why?" Elliott asked suspicious.

"No reason, just wanted to see how likely you were to kick my ass." Trevor joked.

"I still could probably do that if needed, but I wouldn't want to hurt your pride." Elliott joked back. Elliott could feel an energy in the air coming from one of the boys behind him, he was too laser focused on her, a confused look on his face. "What is he doing?" Elliott asked, motioning to the boy.

The boy broke concentration and the energy dissipated from the room. "What are you?" The other boy, Sparrow, asked, still looking confused.

"Wouldn't you like to know." Elliott said sarcastically, "You trying to mess with me?"

"Sparrow has mind control. Don't mind him, he still thinks practical jokes are funny. Felix just likes to set shit on fire, he's working on it though." Trevor said, making it clear he was the Alpha of the group.

"And what can you do?" Elliott asked.

"I'm clairvoyant. I can read minds, so I know everything." Trevor said matter of factly.

"And you're so humble about it too." Elliott said sarcastically.

"What about you? What can you do?" Trevor asked, his own expression turning to one of confusion. Elliott assumed it was because he couldn't read her, although she didn't know exactly that he couldn't, she wasn't sure how far exactly this "block" went.

Elliott turned to face the open fire pit and lit a fire, turning back to the boys. "That." She said pointedly, looking impressed with herself.

"What else?" Trevor asked again.

"What else can you boys do?" Elliott retorted, ignoring his question.

Trevor quickly transmutated behind her, effectively scarring the shit out of her. She had never seen anyone do that before, so she stood there with her mouth hanging open. "That." Trevor responded, transmutating back to the boys.

"You're way too fucking cocky." Elliott said, smirking a little.

"I know, but it's fun to mess with you. Seriously though, is that all you can do?" Trevor asked, his arrogant demeanor fading into one of curiosity.

"No, that's not it, I have a few tricks up my sleeve." Elliott responded.

"Show me." Trevor responded, obviously now flirting with the girl.

"Are you going to be the only one who talks here or are your minions going to speak?" Elliott replied.

"Don't mind them, they haven't talked to a real girl in years." Trevor joked.

"And you have?" Elliott said sarcastically.

"I have a sister." Trevor responded, pretending to be offended.

"A sister you shamelessly flirt with? That's not helping your case." Elliott joked.

Trevor rolled his eyes and Sparrow spoke again, "Why isn't it working? I can't get inside your head."

"One of my many tricks." Elliott responded, turning back to look at the books.

"I can't read you either, that's new." Trevor responded, equally as confused.

"Maybe you shouldn't try to get into people's heads, they might get offended." Elliott deadpanned.

"I know you witches are supposed to be better than us at everything, but this isn't normal. How are you able to do that?" Trevor asked.

"Well at least you can admit we're superior." Elliott joked.

The three boys went to sit on the couch in the library and Trevor spoke, "Come sit with us. Seriously, we won't bite. We're just curious. It's not like they actually let us talk with the witches, they keep everything so separate."

Elliott considered for a moment but gave in, heading over and sitting on the couch with them. "That's their fault, the warlocks. We've tried, but they hate us."

"They say you won't give us the time of day, that it's your fault, that you think we're beneath you." Felix said.

"Not true. Cordelia keeps trying but the boys have a complex, they don't like that the girls are running things." Elliott said honestly.

"Yea they all have a stick up their ass about you guys. They never have anything nice to say." Sparrow said.

"So what's it like at the coven? Are they as hardass as the guys here?" Trevor asked.

"Probably not." Elliott laughed, "It's pretty chill, but I also just got here, I haven't been through an actual school year so I don't really know how different it's going to be."

"Well it SUCKS here, they're always riding us and trying to get our powers to grow, every time someone gets a new one they start screaming about the Alpha. Practically ruin the poor guys with how hard they work them. It's crazy." Felix said.

"We all know there isn't going to be an Alpha." Trevor said. Elliott smirked at that but didn't say anything. "So is us not being able to mess with you one of your powers?"

"Sort of. I'm half witch hunter, which means technically I shouldn't have any powers, but somehow I got both." Elliott explained.

"So you have a witch mother and a witch hunter dad? How does that work?" Trevor asked.

"It doesn't. I grew up in foster care." Elliott said.

"Wait, wasn't Cordelia married to a witch hunter?" Sparrow asked.

Elliott nodded before asking, "How did you know that?"

"Everyone knew that, afterwards that is. You really think the headmaster would give up a chance to ridicule the witches?" Felix joked.

"Wait, so there was two witches that fell in love with witch hunters? That's messed up." Trevor said.

Elliott shook her head, "No. Cordelia is my biological mom."

"But you said you grew up in foster care?" Felix said.

"I did. They had me really young and for one reason or another they gave me up. I was adopted but my parents died, so I was put into foster care." Elliott explained.

"Does she know who you are?" Trevor asked, his eyes wide. Elliott nodded and he continued, "Man, that has to be complicated."

"Oh it is." Elliott laughed. "What about you two?" She said, motioning to Sparrow and Felix, "You have any other tricks up your sleeve?"

"Telekinesis." They both said in unison.

"Ah. I can do that too, just not well." Elliott joked.

"What else can you do?" Trevor asked.

Elliott stared at him for a moment and suddenly he was pinching his nose, the other boys laughing. "I can do that, I can do some other stuff too, but they're either things I'm not supposed to do or things that will kill you so."

"Oh shit, yea not going to ask you to do that." Felix joked.

"Do it, I'm in the mood to die today." Trevor said sarcastically, making Elliott laugh. "Hey you said you're a rule breaker, want to get into some trouble with us in our room? Not sex I mean, just pot."

"How the fuck do you get away with that? This place has zero ventilation." Elliott said laughing.

"Magic. Want to come?" Trevor responded.

"I can't. A) Cordelia would kill me if she found out or smelled pot on me and B) I have to go soon so it's probably a bad idea to get stoned." Elliott said.

"Will you be back tomorrow? We can do it then, they'll be screaming at each other all day, and don't worry about the smell, we've got that covered, we're experts." Trevor asked, obviously wanting to spend time with the girl.

"I should be back tomorrow if Cordelia drags me along again, and I think it would be more suspicious if I came out smelling like axe body spray." Elliott responded, laughing.

"If you came out smelling like axe body spray I doubt she would ask any questions; she would be too mortified to." Trevor joked.

"Ain't that the truth." Elliott joked back.

"Elliott?" Cordelia called, her voice echoing through the hallways.

"And that's my cue. I gotta go." Elliott said, standing up. "See ya!" She called behind her.

"See you tomorrow!" Trevor called back.

Elliott made her way towards Cordelia's voice and almost ran into her when she rounded a corner. "Oh, there you are!" Cordelia said, laughing at their mishap.

"Here I am, you all done?" Elliott asked.

"Yea, were you talking with someone?" Cordelia asked as they walked towards the exit.

"Mhmm. Can we get food now? They ate all my snacks on the plane." Elliott said, sounding slightly bitter which only made Cordelia laugh.

"I think that's the first time you actually asked for food. Are you feeling ok?" Cordelia asked as they headed to the car, Elliott rolling her eyes.

"I'm fine, I just like my snacks." Elliott responded as she hopped in the car, Cordelia sliding in next to her.

"Who were you talking to?" Cordelia asked, curious.

"Just a few of the boys who were there." Elliott responded nonchalantly.

"They actually talked to you?" Cordelia asked, stunned.

"Oh yea, they really wanted to. Apparently they never let them talk to the witches or know anything about them unless they're trashing them. The school is basically a military school." Elliott said.

"What do you mean?" Cordelia asked. She never got to hear much about how the warlocks handled their school, so she was curious.

"They keep pushing for the boys to expand their powers, and when one does they basically run him into the ground because they think he could be the Alpha, the boys are scared shitless." Elliott explained.

Cordelia rolled her eyes and everyone in the car was silent, wanting to know more. "So is that all you talked about?"

"No, they wanted to know what powers I had and wanted to know about what our school was like. They don't believe the bullshit they're feeding them, but they didn't really have anyone to talk about it with since they keep everything so separate." Elliott said.

"You didn't show them ALL your powers, did you?" Cordelia asked.

"Relax, I didn't kill anyone, it's fine." Elliott said, causing Cordelia to relax.

"What are we doing about food?" Madison interrupted.

"Nothing yet. I figured we would go get settled at the hotel then decide what we wanted to do." Cordelia responded.

"Well me, Zoe and Queenie are going out tonight, you should come with us Cordi." Madison said, smirking.

Cordelia shook her head and was about to say no when Elliott said, "Yea, you should go. It'll be fun. Give you a chance to relax finally."

"You really want to sit in a hotel room all by yourself?" Cordelia asked.

"I'll be fine, I'm just going to talk to David and go to bed early anyways, I'm exhausted." Elliott responded.

The five of them finally reached their hotel and got settled into their rooms, Cordelia and Elliott in one, Queenie, Zoe, and Madison in another. The hotel was nice, like 5 star nice, and while Elliott wasn't shocked, it was a new experience. She felt like she couldn't touch anything, she even didn't want to sit on the bed, afraid of possibly staining the white sheets. "You really think I should go out tonight?" Cordelia asked from the bathroom, walking out and looking at the girl.

"I mean, if you want to. You have to do something to relax, and we all know spending time with me isn't it." Elliott joked.

Cordelia laughed but rolled her eyes, "Spending time AWAY from you is more stressful."

"I'm not going anywhere. I promise not to run off with some hippie dude to find my inner peace or whatever." Elliott said sarcastically.

"Is that what you think California is? A bunch of hippies?" Cordelia asked.

"Kind of, that and yoga. I think if I tried to meditate I would combust to be honest. You should try it though." Elliott joked.

Cordelia pretended to be offended, "I do NOT need to meditate. I am very calm."

"Yea ok crazy lady." Elliott responded, causing Cordelia to tickle her sides. "Knock it off!"

"I just don't see how me going out with a bunch of 22 year olds could be fun, I'm too old for them and it's not like I'm looking to meet someone." Cordelia said causing Elliott to raise her eyebrows suspiciously.

"Oh, so it really is a thing then?" Elliott asked.

Cordelia stared at her for a moment, not really wanting to discuss it. "It might be thing, I don't know."

Elliott got the hint and dropped it, instead saying "I mean, it seems like a pretty fun time to watch Madison flirt with everything that moves. Plus you could people watch, you love that shit."

"I do not people watch." Cordelia said, sitting on the bed next to the young girl.

"Oh so it's just me that you watch my every move? Got it." Elliott said sarcastically.

Just then Madison came bursting through the door. "You guys took too long so I ordered pizza, I figured none of us felt like going out."

"I'm down for pizza." Elliott said excitedly, which caused Cordelia to laugh. It had been forever since Elliott had had pizza, before she even came to the coven, and it was one of the only foods she would eat before.

"Pizza is fine. I guess I can change then." Cordelia said, standing up and looking through her bag for something more comfortable.

"Don't. You can wear that tonight, you look hot." Madison said, causing Cordelia to blush before she disappeared back into her room.

"Wear whatever you want, don't listen to her she's just trying to get you laid." Elliott said offhandedly.

"Which is exactly why I don't want to go tonight." Cordelia responded.

"Then don't go if you don't want to, I just think it would be more fun than sitting here all night." Elliott said quietly.

"Hey, we never talked about last night." Cordelia said, suddenly remembering the previous night's events.

"Oh, yea. We can talk about that later." Elliott said quickly.

Cordelia threw her a look and she knew she wasn't getting out of it, the older woman coming to sit back on the bed next to her. "Not if I'm going out later we can't. Talk to me Elle. What happened last night?"

"I don't know." Elliott said with a sigh, causing Cordelia to throw her another look.

"You do know Elle." Cordelia said, her tone stern.

Elliott put her fingers to her temples, trying to figure out how to explain this without making Cordelia upset. "So in therapy we've been working on remembering a lot of stuff from when I was in foster care. I guess some of the memories are just so bad my brain blocks them out so I don't think about them, and I keep having nightmares about them but when I wake up I can't remember them but then I'm terrified and don't understand why." She said.

"But?" Cordelia asked, knowing there was more to the story.

"But last night I remembered one of them and it messed me up a little, that's why last night happened." Elliott explained, hoping the woman wouldn't press her further.

Cordelia paused for a moment, wondering if she should continue. If the memories were really that bad, maybe it was best to leave it alone. However, Cordelia wanted to know so she knew how to help the girl. "What did you remember?" She asked softly.

Elliott sighed, trying to think of how to word it. "In my fourth foster home, the parents really didn't want to deal with me. They were really young and only took in kids for some extra money so they could buy booze and drugs. When they didn't want to deal with me or they were having a party and they didn't want everyone to know they had a kid, they would lock me in a cupboard, usually the one under the sink, and give me stuff to keep me quiet."

Cordelia paused as her stomach rolled, taking in the information. However, she still knew there was more than what Elliott was telling her, so she pressed further, "Elle, what "stuff" did they give you?" She had an idea, but she wanted Elliott to confirm it before she completely lost her shit.

Elliott looked down at the floor as she answered softly, "Whatever drugs they could get their hands on."

Cordelia felt like she was about to be sick. Obviously there was still more Elliott wasn't telling her, but honestly Cordelia had an idea of where this was going and she didn't think she could stand to actually hear the words leave Elliott's mouth. Luckily at that moment Madison brought in the pizza, the girls all congregating in Cordelia's room, and Cordelia was able to slip away to the other girl's room to throw up without being noticed, except by Elliott. She watched the supreme slip away and she knew what was coming, she felt guilty for telling the older woman, she knew she would just blame herself. Cordelia stayed in the other room and cried for a moment, then returned when she thought her eyes looked less bloodshot, but Elliott still noticed as the supreme looked up at her, and Cordelia saw how guilty Elliott looked, and her heart broke even further. She moved to sit next to the girl on the floor, something all the girls were shocked by (the supreme never sat on the floor, and grabbed Elliott's hand, squeezing softly. Elliott squeezed back as the girls all ate their pizza, all of them joking around about the night that was about to happen.

"I bet I can get 10 guy's numbers." Madison said loudly.

"I bet Cordelia can get 15." Queenie said snickering.

"Oh I'm not going out tonight." Cordelia said, causing Elliott to look over at her.

"No, you should go. It'll be fun." Elliott said as the other girls whined at Cordelia, begging her to go.

Cordelia went to argue but Elliott shot her a "please don't go because of me" look and Cordelia caved. She really didn't want to go, but if it meant Elliott would feel less guilty she would do it.

The girls finished their food and got ready in their room, practically pulling Cordelia from hers once they were ready. "Ok. I guess I'm leaving now." Cordelia said, obviously irritated.

"Have fun!" Elliott yelled from the bed, Cordelia walking towards her.

"Stay here, order food if you want it, I don't care but please do not leave this hotel." Cordelia said, looking the girl in the eye.

"I won't. I'm just going to talk to David and go to bed, I'm not leaving." Elliott said honestly.

"Ok. Be safe, have fun. I love you." Cordelia said, hugging the girl and kissing her on the forehead.

"Bye, love you too." Elliott said, making Cordelia smile. She hadn't heard Elliott say she loved her since before she had found the file, and suddenly, the older woman felt like things would be alright.

As the woman closed the door Elliott felt guilty. Although she knew deep down she did in fact love Cordelia, she had only said it because she knew it would make Cordelia feel better, not because she was actually ready to go there again. She called David and lamented her issue, to which he responded that she needed to give Cordelia another shot, that this was good for her, but she still didn't feel any better. She hung up with him and tuned out the light, willing herself to fall asleep, and she finally did, sending her into a weird dream.

She was in a cabin, a log cabin somewhere in the woods. She had never seen this place before, but it was entirely foreign to her, which was strange. Normally she only dreamt about places she was familiar with. She heard arguing in the room next to her, a couple she was assuming, and the man stormed out, seeing her and looking at her strangely. "Who the fuck are you?"

A woman appeared in the doorway, eyeing her strangely, and it took her a moment to recognize that it was Fiona. Fiona recognized her immediately, only offering her a "What are you doing down here?"

"What do you mean?" Elliott asked, and Fiona walked toward her and guided her outside, sitting on a bench.

"There's no cigarettes down here, can you believe it?" Fiona asked, obviously irritated.

"What do you mean 'Down here'?" Elliott asked, still confused.

"You don't know where you are, do you?" Fiona responded. Elliott shook her head before Fiona answered her question, "This is hell darling, you're in hell."

"I'm sorry what? Hell?" Elliott asked, not believing what she was hearing.

"You really didn't send yourself down here? Damn, you must be special." Fiona said, smirking a little, "I always knew you were special."

Elliott shook off the comment, "Why did you not tell me you were my grandmother?"

"Ah, I see Delia got to you. I always hated the term grandmother, makes me sound old. I wasn't old, not when you were born." Fiona said seriously.

"Cordelia didn't tell me. I found my birth certificate." Elliott said. "She hid it from me, for months. She was going to adopt me and never tell me."

"And you're mad about it?" Fiona asked, her eyes looking over the girl.

"Well I'm not happy about it. She didn't want me to know who my father was, that the witches' powers had no effect on me. She used me." Elliott said, her voice clearly agitated.

Back at the hotel, Cordelia had left the night out early, coming back to the hotel a little drunk. She saw Elliott fast asleep, but on her back, which was unusual. She brushed it off, after all it wasn't a big deal, but the girl always slept on her side, and climbed into bed, falling right to sleep.

"My dear girl, Cordelia doesn't have a manipulative bone in her body. Believe me, I tried to raise her to be smarter, but she had other plans. Always too soft, too forgiving. You on the other hand, you're smart. I raised you right." Fiona said haphazardly.

"You didn't raise me at all." Elliott said. Fiona abandoned her, left her to deal with the ugly foster parents she knew about. Elliott wasn't strong, she was damaged. "Cordelia is brilliant."

"Yes, she's brilliant, but she isn't smart, there's a difference." Fiona responded. "I left you to the wolves because I knew you would be better. I always knew Cordelia would come after you, regardless of your abilities. She's soft, no way would she have left you there."

"So you left me there because you wanted me to be like you?" Elliott asked.

"I left you there because I wanted you to be better than me. I coddled Cordelia, made her think there was only good in this world, and look at her. YOU, you know better, and you're stronger because of it. If she had gotten to you she would have coddled you even more, like she does with the girls. They're all soft, naive, but you aren't." Fiona said.

Cordelia was awake before the sun rose, needing to get an early start to their day. She tried to wake Elliott by calling to her from the bathroom, but got no response. She walked over to the girl later on and tried to gently wake her up by running her hands through her hair, but still no response. She gently shook the girl, but still nothing. She shook harder, calling out her name, but once again, nothing. She checked for a pulse and was relieved it was still present, at least she wasn't dead, but that didn't worry her any less; Elliott never slept this deeply. If anything, she was the lightest sleeper Delia had ever met. She wondered if Elliott took something, but Cordelia knew the girl didn't have any sleeping meds. So Cordelia sat on the edge of the bed and watched her, her own heart rapidly beating so loud she could hear it in her ears.

"You need to go." Fiona finally said.

"We aren't done." Elliott replied, still wanting to know more from the women.

"You need to go back before the sun rises. Go. And forgive Delia, she's only doing what she thinks is best." Fiona said, waving the girl off. "I'll be here, forever."

Elliott shot straight up in bed, gasping for breath. Cordelia was sitting up on the bed, looking terrified as the girl tried to catch her breath, her own breaths ragged. "What the hell was that?" Cordelia asked.

"What do you mean?" Elliott said, confused.

"I've been trying to wake you up for the past hour, you wouldn't move Elle. Did you take something?" Cordelia asked, her voice high pitched and panicky.

"No, I didn't take anything." Elliott said, looking out the window as she saw the sun rise. "I guess I just really needed the sleep."

Cordelia accepted the girl's words, but didn't really believe them, she knew deep down something was wrong, but she couldn't think of what. All she could think about was Misty disappearing in her arms over and over again. She brushed it off, Elliott was obviously fine, but the girl still looked exhausted as she ran to put on clothes, rapidly dashing around the room. "We're late." Cordelia said, her voice still that same high pitch.

Elliott rapidly got ready, barely pulling a brush through her hair before she threw it up in a bun. She was tired, more than tired, she felt like she hadn't even slept, but there were things to do that day and after the fiasco she woke up to she doubted Cordelia would just leave her in the hotel. The five girls piled into the car and finally were on their way to the boy's school, Madison complaining at having to be up at such an early hour.

Elliott stayed quiet, thinking about her dream. It all seemed so real, and she remembered it so vividly. How could it have been just a dream? She had heard of girls going to hell before, but that was only when they were tested for the seven wonders, and they had to say an incantation to do it, it didn't just happen.

The girls pulled up to the school and headed inside, Elliott being left on her own once again. She quickly headed to the library and crashed on the couch, falling asleep almost instantly.

Elliott was woken up a few hours later by a hand on her shoulder, making her jump. "Hey sleeping beauty, did we disturb you?" Trevor asked sarcastically.

"Yea you did. What do you want?" Elliott responded, still half asleep.

"Come hangout with us." Trevor said, motioning for Elliott to get up.

"Not sure how much fun I'll be; I'm tired as shit." Elliott said, standing up.

By the time they made it to Trevor's room Elliott was a little more awake and alert, walking in to see the complete mess the room was. "Jeez, even the bedrooms look like a mausoleum." Elliott said sarcastically.

"Yep, they like us cold and dead inside here." Trevor said sarcastically.

"Do you guys ever clean up in here? Damn it looks like a tornado whipped through here." Elliott responded, sitting down on the bed.

"We thought about what you said, about the axe body spray, and we came up with a plan. It's still weed, but there's some herbs in there to mask the smell, and also potentially make you trip your dick off." Felix said.

"Potentially?" Elliott responded.

"They're known hallucinogens, but don't worry it's not as bad as like acid, just some short term effects. You'll be good as gold in a few hours, and they should be done shortly after. If they can stop screaming at each other that is." Sparrow said laughing.

"Good thing I don't have a dick to trip off." Elliott said sarcastically, reaching for the bong that was already set up.

"You ever smoked before?" Trevor asked.

"A few times with an ex-boyfriend." Elliott responded. "You do realize if this kills me Cordelia will slit your throat, right?"

"It won't kill you, I promise. Sparrow and Felix tried it last night, not that anyone here is down with us learning botany." Trevor said.

"You should come to the academy, we love botany." Elliott said, taking a hit.

The next few hours were a bit of a blur. Elliott remembered it all, but it was sensory overload. The four of them were all high as a kite, all the sounds and colors jumbling together. They talked for a bit about the academies, about life in general, about basically everything. Elliott had left about halfway through the trip because she wanted to look at the books, not to read them, just to look. She marveled over them for a little bit before she went and fell asleep on the couch, staying asleep until Cordelia came to wake her. "Elliott, come on, it's time to go."

Cordelia was tense, more than tense, and for a moment Elliott was scared Cordelia's anger was directed toward her. She ushered the young girl out to the car and they all sat in silence the whole way back to the hotel, and once they were back in their rooms Cordelia went off to make a phone call, visibly upset. "What's going on?" Elliott asked Madison.

"The boys are fucking idiots, that's what's going on." Madison fumed. "Trust me, you don't want to know."

"Nah it's about her, she deserves to know." Queenie said, equally as upset.

"How is it about me?" Elliott asked, confused.

"The warlocks found out that their powers won't work on you, that you're technically a witch hunter and they freaked out. Said Cordelia was putting everyone's life in jeopardy and that they need to "deal" with you. Said if we didn't do it then they would and Cordelia lost her shit. She almost killed them." Zoe said.

"What do you mean "deal with me"?" Elliott asked. The room got silent and Elliott knew what they meant, they wanted to kill her.

"I just don't get how those idiots found out. They barely know what's going on with their own damn school." Madison yelled.

"One of them has to be clairvoyant, you really think they weren't listening to every thought we had?" Queenie said.

Elliott stayed quiet, she knew how they found out. She pulled out her phone and sent a text to the group chat she had made earlier with the boys. "Why the fuck would you tell the school who I was? Are you out of your minds?"

"We didn't have a choice Elliott." Trevor responded, "They literally tortured us for information. Wanted dirt on you guys. I'm sorry."

"Well they want to kill me." Elliott responded, sliding away her phone. How the fuck could she have been so stupid? Of course they would get the boys to tell them everything, but at the time she didn't think it was a big deal. "Tortured how?" She sent, now just curious. There was no fixing this, and while Elliott was scared she also knew the Warlocks couldn't do anything to her on their own, and no way would Cordelia ever agree to anything anyways. Trevor sent her a string of pictures of the bruising on the boys, they were obviously beaten. Elliott considered for a moment that this was all planned, they were working with the school to get her to trust them. But the bruising was strategic, none of it on places Elliott would have seen when she was spending time with the boys earlier. Elliott thought for a moment about their conversations earlier, trying to think if she had said anything that would do more damage, but she didn't think she did. How could they all have acted so normal with her if all of this was going on? These thoughts only made Elliott want to talk to them more, she obviously had a way to figure out the truth, even if she wasn't supposed to use it.

Cordelia came back into the room, her eyes a bright red, she had obviously been crying and she quickly noticed the looks on everyone's faces, including Elliott, she knew they had told her. She moved to sit next to Elliott on the bed, grabbing her hand. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you. You know that right?"

"I know." Elliott said quietly. She did know, she knew that Cordelia would die before she let anything happen to any of the girls.

"I don't understand how they found out." Cordelia said quietly.

"Is one of them clairvoyant?" Queenie asked, but Cordelia just shook her head.

"I told the boys." Elliott said quietly, causing everyone to look at her, "I didn't realize it would be such a big deal, I'm sorry."

Cordelia was quiet for a moment before speaking, she should have seen this coming. Of course they were using the boys to get information, they were always sneaky. "We aren't going back there." She said firmly.

"We have to." Elliott said, handing Cordelia her phone with the messages. "They are literally beating the boys, we can't leave them there, not with them in charge."

"They're lying." Cordelia said, handing the phone back.

"Well there's one way to find out." Elliott said, turning to face her.

"Elliott no, I'm not bringing you back there. Are you insane?" Cordelia said, stunned by what the girl wanted to do.

"We go back, you finish whatever council stuff you have left, and I'll get inside their heads. They don't know I can do it, so they'll be none the wiser. But if they aren't lying, we have to do something. We have to think of all of us, we can't leave them behind." Elliott said.

Cordelia knew Elliott was right, but she also knew it was dangerous. Cordelia couldn't be around her and who knew what they would try to pull if they came back. "And if they try something and I'm not there? What then?"

"Then I fry their brains. Everyone wins." Elliott said sarcastically, causing the other girls to smile, but Cordelia stayed straight faced.

"Elliott, if they know their powers won't work on you they'll try something else, they could drug you or…" Cordelia said, trailing off.

"If they're really going to work that hard then I'm screwed anyways, it doesn't matter if we go back or not. Hell, take me to the council meeting with you, I don't even need the boys, I can deal with the headmaster. Set it up and say you want to prove to them I'm not dangerous. I can talk and search at the same time." Elliott said, her tone making it clear she was doing whether or not Cordelia wanted her to.

"Cordelia, she has a point. If this is actually happening, we have a duty to protect them. What about Warlocks not being able to knowingly harm another? If they're really beating them that violates their own agreement. They should be burned at the stake." Queenie said, agreeing with Elliott.

"Wait that still happens? I wasn't going to go that far but ok." Elliott said, stunned that the punishment was death, specifically that kind of death.

Cordelia was reluctant but agreed to have a meeting with all of them, including the boys. She hated how stubborn Elliott was, but she secretly also admired her for it, the girl was willing to put her own life on the line to save a complete stranger, and that really said a lot about who she was.

The rest of the night was somber and uneventful. Elliott tried to lighten the mood a few times, but no one was really going for it. Madison didn't even mention going out that night once, which was unusual for her. Cordelia and the girls all went to bed early, but Elliott stayed up, having slept through most of the day. She felt guilty for talking to the boys and telling them something that was obviously meant to be kept secret, and guilty because she knew how much harder she just made Cordelia's life. That seemed to be all she was doing lately, making everyone's life harder. She didn't mean to, but there she was, doing it, and she was starting to believe that that's just who she was, a hurricane that destroyed everyone around her. Maybe her file was right.

Elliott's phone vibrated and she saw it was Misty, so she took the call and walked out of the room. Misty just wanted to check on everyone, Cordelia had obviously called her earlier when she was crying. It was sweet that she was so worried, but it also just made Elliott feel worse. Misty asked how Elliott was holding up and Elliott told her she was fine, causing the woman to go silent on the other end, she knew what "fine" really meant. The conversation was brief and Misty just tried to reassure her that everything would be ok, that Cordelia would handle it, so Elliott relayed the plan to Misty so she wasn't left in the dark. The young girl could tell the witch was not ok with what was happening, but she didn't say anything, just asked if Cordelia was ok with it, which she already knew the answer to. The two talked for a few more minutes and they finally hung up once Elliott said she was going to bed.

Elliott crawled into bed and was thinking, a million thoughts racing around her head. She was curious as to what had actually gone down in the meeting, so she turned towards Cordelia and tried to get in her head, pulling back a few times as her moral compass tugged back and forth with her head. She tried to rationalize it to herself, thinking that she had a right to know, but she also knew she couldn't keep using her ability whenever she felt like it, it wasn't fair to everyone else. She vowed to herself that this would be the last time, and into Cordelia's head she went, pulling the fresh memory and replaying it.

She needs to be eliminated, there's no way to justify this Cordelia. She will ruin us all. You can't change her.

You don't even know her! If anything she's an asset to us, we don't know how far her abilities reach! She could protect us!

That's exactly right, you don't know! For all we know she could gain control of her abilities and use them against us. We would be powerless, even you. Imagine if the witch hunters came for her, converted her. She would be their greatest weapon; she has to be put down before this gets any worse. This should have never happened, you were careless.

Not everyone is inherently evil, she still knows right from wrong. She's staying. End of discussion.

Then maybe you need to step down, since your own judgement is obviously tainted. She's inside your head miss supreme. She's using you and eventually she will turn on you. You aren't fit to lead us, you never have been.

Do not go there. You would all be scrambling if it wasn't for me. You already lost one of your boys because you were careless. You can't lead yourself, you're too caught up in your own ego.

We've been leading ourselves for years Cordelia, since you seem to not care about us at all. She's dangerous, to everyone. For gods sakes Cordelia do you really think this could end well? She hates you, she hates all of us! It's engrained in her DNA! She's not a witch, she never will be. She's a time bomb.

We have a responsibility to her, regardless of where she came from. She's a witch just like anyone else, she makes her own choices.

You will never be her mother Cordelia, never. You abandoned her. Do you really think she could love you? She despises you, who wouldn't? How do we know she hasn't been turned already? She needs to go, and if you're too clouded with your own desires then I guess we'll have to do it.

You won't touch her.

You can't protect her forever Cordelia. Not if you don't want the whole coven to crumble. We'll get to her eventually.

Over my dead body.

That can be arranged.

Elliott pulled back just as Cordelia lunged at the men, not wanting to see any more. It suddenly made sense why Cordelia had been so distant the whole night, and as much as Elliott hoped the woman didn't believe them, something in her told her that she did. Elliott had been distant, closed off. She hadn't been there for Cordelia and even though she knew she had her reasons, it was just as much her responsibility as it was Cordelia's to maintain their relationship. Elliott never should have let a doubt even cross the older woman's mind that she didn't care, but she was too caught up in her own emotions to realize just how hard the supreme was fighting for her. Suddenly, all of the issues of the past didn't matter anymore, they all seemed trivial in comparison to what they were dealing with.

Elliott hardly slept that night, her thoughts racing about the day ahead of them. Everyone was up bright and early, but no one complained, not even Madison. The air was tense and quiet, and they all were silent as they got into the car and headed towards Hawthorne. Cordelia was stoic, her face emotionless, and Elliott couldn't quite read her. Regardless, she knew the supreme was nervous, so she grabbed the supreme's hand in her own and gave it a soft squeeze as she laid her head on Cordelia's shoulder. The gesture was small, but it was enough, and as Cordelia squeezed back Elliott could see out of the corner of her eye that the supreme had tears brimming in her eyes, moving her head to drop a kiss into Elliott's hair.

The meeting was just as cold and emotionless as the car, all the men sitting on one side, the girls on the other. The boys were lined up across from Elliott, none of them looking up at her. She could see the fear in their eyes though, and Elliott wasn't sure if it was because they were about to be found out, or they were scared as to what the men might do to them.

"It has come to our attention that this school has been using some… methods in which we do not agree with against their own in order to gather information." Cordelia began, her tone cold and unforgiving.

The headmaster laughed, and Elliott found she despised him. He was a very tiny man but you could tell his ego was bigger than his giant head. "Oh really? And what would that be?"

"You've been abusing your boys headmaster. Harming your own. We can't have that. You know what the punishment is." Cordelia responded as the boys finally looked up, then immediately looked back down.

"Cordelia, I will admit that we did use some less than ok methods for gathering information, but none of it harmed these boys. They were absolutely willing, weren't you?" The headmaster said, turning towards the boys as they nodded appropriately.

"Prove it." Cordelia said, motioning for the headmaster to inspect the boys.

"Boys, stand up and lift your shirt." The headmaster said, and each boy did as told, no bruises of any kind littering their body. Not a mark.

Cordelia looked down and motioned for them to be seated again, having a hunch that the headmaster was telling the truth, but Elliott knew better. She had worked with Misty long enough to know that a simple herb concoction would get rid of any marks, temporarily that was. And the boys definitely knew how to work with herbs. She let Cordelia and the headmaster talk, aiming her attention at the boys. She easily went inside their head and pulled their memories, scanning each one. There were dozens of them in which the headmaster himself abused them, most of them not even involving the witches. She pulled the memory from two days ago, and watched as he mercilessly beat them until he had gotten what he wanted. She pulled back, not wanting to see anymore, and turned her attention to the headmaster who was now speaking to her. "So you are aware of who you are?"

"Yes." Elliott responded shortly.

"And you know that witch hunters are this covens largest threat, correct?" The headmaster asked.

"Yes. I do a lot of reading, I'm aware." Elliott responded equally as short.

"And what abilities do you currently posses?" The headmaster asked, getting irritated at the girls demeanor.

"Pyrokinesis, Telekinesis, Mind control. Oh, I can also fry your brain." Elliott responded just as irritated, letting the headmaster know just how dangerous she really was and asserting her dominance, which only made Cordelia sigh. Elliott was supposed to be calming them down, not instigating.

"And you think that's helping your case? You cannot exist, not in peace. This can't happen Cordelia!" The headmaster screamed, tired of the antics.

Elliott looked over at Cordelia and gave a slight nod, letting the woman know she already had her answer. Cordelia looked back at the headmaster as Elliott talked. "I want you to let me do something."

"Do what?" The headmaster asked, looking over to Cordelia who just stared at him.

"I can also get inside people's heads, view their memories. I want to look at yours." Elliott said, her face and voice emotionless.

"Absolutely not!" The headmaster said, seething.

"If you didn't do anything, you have nothing to worry about, but we both know you did. You really think I haven't already looked at the boy's?" Elliott said, her voice still emotionless but a smirk on her face. The boy's looked up, petrified but also slightly relieved.

"No. I won't allow it. That's not an ability, never has been. You're lying. She could say whatever she wanted to and you would believe it." The headmaster said, staring at Cordelia

"I've seen her do it, you'll understand in a minute." Cordelia said plainly.

"I'm doing it either way, you can't stop me. So you can either be willing and we might go easy on you, or I can do it on my own." Elliott said, already entering the mans head.

She tried something new, just to see if it would work, she entered Cordelia's head as well, displaying the memories for both to see. She pulled him beating the boys, then forcing them to cover the bruises, screaming at them until they complied. Cordelia was impressed, and Elliott let Cordelia's mind go, but she stayed in the headmasters, wanting to see if everyone was compliant with this. She found only one of the other two men were, the third strongly argued against it. When she pulled back Cordelia was already deciding the punishments to be carried out, Elliott stopping her. "Not him." She said, pointing towards the third man, "He tried to stop it. He was against it, they trapped him so he couldn't do anything."

Cordelia accepted this, and her tune changed. "Fine. You will take over as headmaster pending investigation, these two are finished. Elliott, go through his head, I want to know anything that could be detrimental to this coven."

Elliott looked over at him and he nodded, her easily entering his head. He was against them killing Elliott, he thought she was harmless. He constantly was defending Cordelia to the other men, and was often punished for it. He was clean, completely clean, and Elliott smiled at him as she pulled back. "He's clean." She said, looking at Cordelia, who visibly relaxed.

"Ok." She turned back to the other two men. "The punishment for knowingly harming another Warlock is death, but you all know that. I can't be the one to administer it, it has to come from one of your own." Cordelia turned to the third man, knowing the kids wouldn't be able to do it. He nodded at her, a silent agreement. "The punishment will be carried out today. Now."

The three men and Cordelia were loaded into one car, the boys and Elliott into another, and the rest of the council into a third, and off they went. Elliott wasn't sure of where exactly they were going, but she wasn't really going to question it. As soon as she got into the car the boys were talking to her again. "Why didn't you tell us you could do that?" Trevor asked.

"I'm not supposed to use it, and it's not something I give up freely. I had to be able to trust you." Elliott said.

"Thank god for that. Felix almost shit his pants trying to figure out a way to cover the bruising, they were clueless how to do it." Sparrow said.

"And that's why botany is important. They would have been screwed had you not known. I mean they would have been screwed regardless but still." Elliott joked.

"Are they really going to kill them?" Felix asked.

Elliott nodded. "I'm not sure how though, protocol is to be burned at the stake, but in my opinion that seems brutal. I guess we'll find out."

The cars pulled to a stop and everyone got out, Cordelia quickly heading over to Elliott. "Take these," She said, handing her earplugs, "And don't look."

Elliott grabbed them questioningly and they all began walking, eventually stopping at a piece of land in the middle of nowhere, three posts lined up in front of them. "Holy shit you're actually going to do it?"

Cordelia looked at her sadly and nodded, turning to the boys behind her, "You don't have to look if you don't want to."

The boys made no move to turn around, their faces hard, and they all watched as the two men were tied to the posts and doused with gasoline. Elliott looked up at Cordelia and the older woman grabbed the earplugs, putting them in her ears for her. She knew Cordelia was just looking out for her, and truth was she really didn't want to watch this anyways. She didn't turn around quite yet, and she could faintly hear Cordelia talking next to her, listing off the crimes the two men had committed. The third man took a lit fire stick from one of the guards and made his way towards the poles. Cordelia looked at Elliott and she turned around, grabbing the older woman's hand and holding it tightly. She looked at the boys who were still facing the poles, and watched as their faces turned from stoic to intrigued to horrified, and then they too turned around. Elliott could faintly hear the screams coming from behind her and she cringed, Cordelia squeezing her hand even tighter as the younger girl shut her eyes, willing the sound to go away. A memory flashed before her eyes, one that wasn't her own, it was the headmasters, but she couldn't make sense of it. He was standing with three other men whom Elliott had never seen before, discussing her.

She is the key to taking them all down. She's who you want.

And how would we get her? If she's with them? You really think she's going to turn on them?

Make her an offer she can't refuse. I gave you this, you leave us out of it. You want to bring them all down? She's it. She can destroy them, all of them, even the supreme.

The memory disappeared and Elliott's heart dropped. They knew, the witch hunters knew.


	23. Chapter 23

Elliott had been quite that whole evening, ever since she saw the memory. She wasn't sure how to bring it up or even if she should, she didn't want to stress Cordelia out even further. If Elliott knew this was going on then she should be able to handle it right? What could they possibly offer her that would make her turn her back on the coven? Then she thought about it, it wasn't exactly what they could offer her, more like what could they leverage against her. David was the first thing she thought of, he was vulnerable and unprotected, he was Elliott's weak spot. If they really were going to go after her, that would be the way to do it. But would she sacrifice her friends to just save him? Elliott didn't know, and she really didn't want to find out.

Cordelia noticed the girl was quiet and off, but she just attributed it to the burning, after all it wasn't an easy thing to witness, not even for her. She did her best to shield the girl from it, but earplugs could only go so far. This day had been a lot for all of them, and while Cordelia originally was against the whole idea, she was grateful she went through with it, that she was able to help the boys. She did have to admit her judgement was clouded, that she put Elliott above those boys, valued her safety more, and that was something she had to work on.

The five girls went out for dinner and Elliott stayed quiet throughout the whole thing, only offering responses when directly asked. No one really questioned it though, leaving her be, which she greatly appreciated. She knew she had to tell Cordelia what she knew, that she couldn't deal with this alone, but she was scared. She knew it would make Cordelia upset and worried and she didn't want that, but she also knew if she said nothing that Cordelia would be furious.

They all returned to the hotel room and Madison quickly decided they were going out, dragging along Zoe and Queenie. She tried to convince Cordelia to come but she declined, and off they went. Elliott hopped in the shower, knowing that after she got out she was going to have to tell Cordelia, and she made the shower last far longer than she should have, the water a lava like temperature. She finally forced herself to get out and dried off, walking out into the hotel room with her hair still dripping. Cordelia laughed slightly but then looked concerned, "Elle, you're bright red. What were you doing in there?"

Elliott looked down at her skin and realized just how hot the shower must have been. "I like hot showers." She said with a shrug.

"There's a difference between hot and boiling love. And since when do you take long showers? You were in there for a half hour." Cordelia said, laughing a little.

"I usually just stay in until the water gets cold, but the water stayed hot. I forgot how big their water tanks are." Elliott said, sitting on the bed.

"You ok? You've been quiet." Cordelia asked. Elliott's immediate reflex was to say she was fine, and she got the first part out before she stopped herself, which only made Cordelia more concerned. "Elle? What?"

"Um, when you were burning them earlier, I got a memory from the headmaster." Elliott started.

"And?" Cordelia asked, confused.

"And… he told the witch hunters about me. They know. I don't know exactly what it means but he basically said to make me an offer that I can't refuse to join them, and in trade they would leave the warlocks alone." Elliott said quickly, watching the color from the supreme's face drain as she spoke.

"He… told them?" Cordelia said quietly, starting to panic.

"But this could be nothing, right? I mean I'm not an asshole or an idiot, I wouldn't turn on you guys ever. They couldn't turn me like that." Elliott said, Cordelia already getting up and grabbing her phone, calling David.

"David I don't care; you're coming to stay at the house. No, I don't care about school, I'll pay for you to go online. Either you come willingly or I'll make you, and you know I can do it. Go right now, pack a bag, we can get the rest of your things later. David do not fight me on this, I'm not kidding." Cordelia said into the phone, Elliott only hearing half of the conversation. The two argued until Elliott texted David, telling him to do it, that this was serious, and she heard Cordelia let out a sigh as he complied, hanging up the phone and calling Misty to let her know that he was coming, relaying all the information. She finally hung up and made her way back to Elliott, sitting back down on the bed.

"I'm sorry." Elliott said softly, feeling largely responsible for all of this, "I shouldn't have said anything."

"Don't be." Cordelia said sternly, turning to face Elliott, "I'm glad you did, I needed to know. Where you not going to tell me?"

Elliott looked down, "I didn't want to worry you, you're already dealing with too much. I didn't want to add to it."

"it's my job to worry Elle, especially when it concerns you or any of the girls' safety. I would rather know ahead of time than be completely blindsided by it. That comes with being the supreme baby, I'm always worried." Cordelia said honestly.

"But you shouldn't have to be, it's not like you chose to be the supreme." Elliott said, trying to get the woman to understand.

"No, I didn't, you're right. But there are things I chose to do. I chose to watch over the girls, to run the school. I could've easily left like Fiona did, but I chose to stay, that was my choice to take on all of this. Just like it was my choice to adopt you, and take on all of your issues, not that you have many, besides the whole not listening to rules thing." Cordelia said with a chuckle, "I didn't do it because I felt obligated to, I did it because I wanted to." Elliott looked down and bit her bottom lip, pulling a face Cordelia knew all too well. The supreme pulled the same exact face whenever she wanted to say something but was nervous, and she chuckled a bit at how similar the two really were. "What?"

Elliott stared at her for a moment before answering. "You… You know the stuff they said, about me and you. You know it's not true, right?"

Cordelia looked at her confused for a moment before realizing what the girl was saying, her eyes narrowing playfully, "You've been snooping, haven't you?"

Elliott looked down at her hands, a blush creeping up her face, "Maybe a little."

"You ever hear 'sometimes it's better to not know'?" Cordelia said, laughing slightly.

"I know; I'm working on it." Elliott said, her face bright red as she looked up at the woman briefly before looking back down.

Cordelia playfully rolled her eyes and pulled the girl towards her, Elliott leaning on her slightly. "I know it's not true, I know who you are. I can't say I didn't believe it at the time, or that I don't have doubts, but those have nothing to do with you, that's just me doubting myself, which I need to work on."

"What do you mean? You're great." Elliott said honestly.

"Well thank you, but I'm not. I'm still trying to figure this whole thing out, and I've made a lot of mistakes already. I'm a perfectionist if you can't tell, so these things keep me up at night." Cordelia said.

"You don't have to be perfect, I know I'm not. All you can do is do the best you can, that's all I'm ever going to ask of you. But just to be clear, you not telling me was really dumb, I wouldn't have cared. You did what you thought was best at the time. There's no way you could've known what was going to happen, I don't hold that against you." Elliott said, trying to crack a joke.

Cordelia laughed and kissed the top of her head, "Yea, that was dumb. I should've had more faith in you, that was my mistake. I was just scared."

"I know, and I should've realized that. I should've had more faith in you too. I'm sorry for getting so mad." Elliott said, finally coming to terms with everything.

"Are you kidding? If someone did that to me I don't think I ever would've spoken to them again, you had every right to be mad." Cordelia said. "Hey Elliott, when you were in that house, did you know what they were giving to you?"

Elliott thought for a moment, but chose to be honest. "Sometimes I did, not always."

"What was it?" Cordelia asked, wanting to know.

"Do you really want to know? It's just going to make you mad." Elliott said, but the supreme nodded so she told her. "Xanax, prescription painkillers, cough syrup, benadryl. Sometimes heroin."

Cordelia pulled Elliott down on the bed with her, situating them so Elliott couldn't see the pain written all over Cordelia's face. "Did anything bad ever happen because of it?"

Elliott nodded into her chest, "I overdosed twice. Never went to the hospital though."

The two sat in silence for a while, Cordelia just holding the girl tightly. Finally, Cordelia spoke, "I don't want you to be afraid to talk to me about this stuff. I want you to be able to talk to me."

"I know it makes you upset, and I don't want you to be. Plus, it's not that big of a deal, most of it at least, it doesn't really bother me anymore. There's no use in bringing it up." Elliott said quietly.

"It should bother you, they treated you horribly. How are you not furious with them?" Cordelia asked, trying to get inside the girls mind a little, understand how she worked.

"They were doing the best they could." Elliott said simply, which only caused Cordelia to hold her tighter. The two fell asleep like that, with the light still on and everything. Cordelia woke in the middle of the night, instinctually tightening her hold on the girl as she came to. She wanted to turn out the light, but didn't want to move the young witch, so she instead used her magic to do it, falling right back asleep after kissing Elliott's head one last time.

The next day everyone slept in except for Elliott, the young girl untangling herself from the supreme as carefully as she could, getting a groan out of the older woman as Elliott stood up. Cordelia didn't fully wake however, just rolled over and went back to bed, so Elliott tried to find something quiet to do until the woman woke. She finally settled on reading outside on the balcony since it was a nice day, pulling a chair out into the sun and curling up on it, easily getting lost in the text in front of her.

Cordelia woke a few hours later, rolling over to find a cold empty bed beside her. She looked around, confused, but relaxed once she saw the young girl sitting out in the sun. She smiled to herself, the girl looked so content, she didn't want to bother her, so she got up and made herself a cup of coffee, sitting back on the bed just to watch the young girl. She finally gave in, heading off to the balcony, but not before she snapped a quick picture of the scene on her phone.

Cordelia pushed open the door and Elliott looked up at her, smiling. "You're awake." She said softly, "You sleep ok?"

"Probably the best sleep I've had in months. I can't remember the last time I slept in. Did you sleep ok?" Cordelia asked, noticing the girl looked tired, but she always looked tired.

Elliott nodded, "Yea, I slept ok. Do you have to go to the school again today?"

Cordelia shook her head. "No, I figured I would let John Henry settle in and figure out what he was getting into before I bothered him, so I have the day free. Anything you want to do in particular?" She asked.

Elliott shook her head. "I don't know what there is to do." She said, closing her book that she had almost already finished.

"Have you ever been to an amusement park?" Cordelia asked, Elliott shaking her head in return. "You ever been on a roller coaster?" Elliott shook her head again. "Well, how about we do Disneyland then? Everyone should experience it at least once in their life."

"Aren't I too old for that?" Elliott asked, unsure. Sure, she loved Disney as much as the next girl, but she wasn't a small child, she was 15.

"Not if you don't want to be. I'm not too old for Disney." Cordelia said, making the younger girl laugh.

"I'm pretty sure Madison would die inside if we dragged her there." Elliott said, getting a chuckle out of the supreme.

"Then she doesn't have to go if she doesn't want to. It'll be fun." Cordelia said, her mind already made up. Elliott agreed, although she was nervous about the whole thing, and the two chatted for a bit until the other girls woke up.

"Alright bitches, what are we doing today?" Madison said, walking onto the balcony. "I'm not just going to sit here all day."

"We're going to Disney." Cordelia said, looking up at Madison and watching her face turn to one of disgust.

"You mean snotty kid central? Gross." Madison snarked.

"You don't have to go, but me and Elliott are." Cordelia responded.

"Oh I see, making up for lost childhood memories. Fine, I'm in. At least this time I'm old enough to be drunk for the entire thing." Madison said, conceding.

"I don't think getting wasted and going on roller coasters is the best idea Mads." Elliott said, smirking.

"You underestimate me, Elle." Madison responded, heading back inside to the other girls.

The five of them got ready and off they went, getting to the park just after noon. Once inside Cordelia immediately pulled Elliott to one of the booths filled with Minnie and Mickey ears. "Pick out whichever ones you like." She said simply.

"Oh I don't need anything, we can just go on rides and stuff." Elliott said, backing away from the booth. Disney was already crazy expensive, she didn't need anything extra, and she hated when Cordelia bought her things.

"It's your first time at Disney, you need ears. It's a rite of passage." Madison said, surprisingly going along with the whole thing, Queenie and Zoe backing her up.

"Come on, pick some out!" Cordelia said, grabbing the girls hand and pulling her back towards the booth excitedly with the biggest grin on her face. Elliott rolled her eyes playfully and laughed, giving in and looking over the many ears hanging up. She had to admit it was cute seeing Cordelia so excited, the supreme was always so reserved and anxious about everything, it was cool to see her let go a little bit. Cordelia put a bunch of ears on her head, wanting her to try them out, and Elliott eventually settled on a black pair with a purple bow that were completely covered in sequins, Cordelia paying for them before they went off to find the first ride. They settled on a buzz lightyear one where you shot at things from inside the car, and while waiting in line Cordelia turned to the young girl. "Misty wants a picture of you in your ears."

"Do not take any pictures of me Cordelia." Elliott said laughing as she swatted at the supreme's phone.

"Just one? Come on!" Cordelia begged, and Elliott finally caved, the older woman getting a picture of Elliott laughing at her puppy dog face. The photo was adorable and Cordelia immediately set it as her wallpaper after texting it to Misty, to which Misty sent a heart emoji.

The girls finally got sat in their cars, Cordelia and Elliott in one and the other three in the one behind them. "Bet I can get a higher score than you." Elliott said, causing Delia to throw her a glare.

"You're on. I'm so going to beat you." Cordelia said as the car took off.

The two shot away, both of them having impeccable aim as the car spun around, but Elliott was definitely winning. Cordelia quickly turned her attention from shooting and focused more on distracting Elliott, tickling her sides as she freely shot with one hand, throwing the young girl off. "That's cheating!" Elliott yelled as the older woman laughed, swatting her hands away.

Cordelia took the lead and Elliott wasn't happy, obviously everything was fair game, so Elliott focused and moved the gun out of Cordelia's hand with her mind, causing Cordelia to misfire and send a laser directly at her chest. She gasped and shot Elliott a look, tickling her sides once again. "That is absolutely cheating, no magic missy."

Elliott shook her head as Cordelia grabbed the gun again, reaching for the steering wheel and rapidly spinning the car around so Cordelia couldn't shoot, making her laugh as Elliott once again took the lead. The two then focused on the game, choosing to not mess with each other for the remainder of the ride. Once it was done they looked at their scores and realized they scored the exact same, it was a tie. "I demand a recount. This is bogus, I won." Elliott said loudly.

"Sore loser." Cordelia said, sticking out her tongue.

"I didn't lose! We tied! I would've won if SOMEONE didn't cheat!" Elliott yelled, laughing.

"You used magic!" Cordelia yelled back.

"But you cheated first! That was revenge." Elliott said, walking out of the building.

"Guess we just have to have a rematch." Cordelia said, trailing behind her.

"If you think I'm waiting in line again you're crazy." Elliott replied.

"Guess we just have to come back." Cordelia said simply as she met up with the other girls.

"Are y'all ok?" Queenie asked, "You guys were spinning around like crazy, we thought you might have killed each other."

Elliott and Cordelia laughed softly, shaking their heads as they all planned what to do next. The girls spent the entire day on rides, giggling the whole time. They even managed to drag Cordelia and Madison on splash mountain, despite their protests. Throughout the entire day the girls were sneakily taking pictures of Elliott and Cordelia, forwarding them to Misty. Everyone was so relaxed; it was nice after the shit storm the past few months had been. All of them were the happiest they had been in a while, not worrying about the coven or the boys or anything else, just smiling and laughing.

They stayed until the park closed, piling back into the car to return to the hotel, all of them sunburnt and exhausted. Elliott fell asleep in the car, leaning her head on Cordelia's shoulder. When they returned to the hotel Cordelia considered not waking the girl up, she looked so peaceful, but Elliott woke up on her own once the girls started getting out of the car, rubbing her eyes as she made her way back to their room.

Elliott immediately flopped on the bed and sprawled out, causing Cordelia to laugh. "So I guess you're done for the night?" Elliott just groaned in response, not moving which only made Cordelia laugh harder, rolling her eyes playfully as she changed into something more comfortable. The other girls quickly invaded the room and decided they were all having a movie night, ordering in Mexican food, which Elliott had also never tried. She settled on nachos, they seemed like a pretty safe option, while everyone else got tacos, and once they were done eating all of them laid on Cordelia's giant bed, settling in and watching Heathers. Elliott passed out about halfway through, her head on Cordelia's lap as Cordelia softly played with her hair. The movie finished and the other girls went off to bed, so Delia decided to give Misty a call, hoping she was still awake. "Hello?" Misty answered.

"Hey..." Cordelia said quietly, not wanting to wake the girl sleeping on her.

"How was today? I saw all the pictures, ya looked like ya had a good time!" Misty said excitedly from the other end.

"Misty I only sent you one picture." Cordelia said chuckling.

"Yea but the girls sent me like 50. Ya didn't see them?" Misty answered.

"No I didn't, send them to me?" Cordelia asked.

"I will, did ya have a good time?" Misty asked again.

"I did. It was really nice." Cordelia said, looking down at Elliott and smiling.

"That's what counts. Elliott looked like she was havin' fun. Did she give ya a rough time at all?" Misty said.

"Only when I wanted to buy her the ears, she really hates people buying her things. But she's been great this whole trip." Cordelia said honestly.

"She's gonna have to get used ta it babe, we all know you're going to spoil the crap out of her." Misty said laughing.

"She was just so happy today, after everything it's just nice to have her back." Cordelia said quietly, looking down to make sure she didn't wake the girl.

The two talked for a bit longer about how David was settling in and things going on at the coven before they bid each other goodnight, Cordelia smiling as she hung up the phone. She then received an onslaught of pictures from the swamp witch, a few of just her, some of just Elliott, and a ton of the two of them together. Cordelia smiled as she scrolled through, tears brimming in her eyes when she landed on one particular photo where Cordelia had smashed an ice cream cone onto Elliott's nose, the young girl throwing her a playful glare as Cordelia laughed. The girls had captured the moment perfectly, and Cordelia wondered how they were able to take so many pictures without anyone noticing. She quickly set the photo as her lockscreen and plugged her phone in, shifting Elliott so she was actually laying on the bed as the supreme curled up next to her, shutting off the light and falling asleep.


	24. Chapter 24

After a crazy few days and a couple of days off, the council and Elliott finally returned to the coven, the flight back being much easier than the one to California. The girls returned early in the morning and as Elliott walked up to the house she was greeted by Max, who had nearly doubled in size again. "Hey little dude, you miss me?"

Max jumped at Elliott's legs then fell, rolling onto his belly, signaling he was in dire need of being pet, so Elliott laughed and leaned down to scratch his belly as Cordelia smiled. "He's not exactly little anymore. How big is he going to get?" Cordelia said as she hugged Misty and Mallory who had come out to meet them.

"At this rate we might have a Clifford on our hands." Elliott joked as Max looked up and barked.

"Ya are never allowed ta leave again. Max was miserable, he just laid by the front door all week, waitin' for ya and cryin'. It was terrible." Misty said seriously to Elliott, causing the younger girl to almost burst into tears.

"That doesn't make me feel any better!" Elliott yelled playfully as she sat down on the ground, letting Max lick her face as tears fell down her cheeks.

Cordelia chuckled, "Elliott, it just rained, the grounds soaked."

"I don't care; do you see how happy he is? Poor baby." Elliott responded, looking up at Cordelia while Max ran around wildly.

"You can apologize to him inside where it's dry." Cordelia said, grabbing Elliott's hand and pulling her up.

"Ugh fine." Elliott responded sarcastically, the two of them grabbing their bags and heading in with the rest of the girls, Max trailing behind them.

The witches all settled in the kitchen and were catching up, Misty and Mallory pestering the girls with a million questions about their trip, wanting to know everything that happened. Madison, as usual, was a smartass, her filter completely gone due to the early hour the witches woke up at. Zoe and Queenie did most of the talking, each throwing a glare at Madison. "Girl, go take a nap." Queenie finally said after Madison's antics had gotten to be too much, causing the girl to roll her eyes and stalk off to her room, making everyone else chuckle.

Elliott excused herself and went to lay down, she was exhausted, falling asleep almost instantly. Cordelia came to check on her later and smiled when she saw Max asleep with her on the bed, practically laying on her, Elliott's arm draped over top of him. The supreme snapped a picture of the cute scene, then headed to her office to work. While Max had taken really well to everyone in the coven, it was obvious he was in love with Elliott, acting like her protector, and Cordelia was grateful she chose to keep him.

Elliott woke up a few hours later when David sat on her bed, causing Max to bark at him aggressively. "Settle down killer, I'm not going to hurt her." David said, holding his hands up in surrender, which made Elliott laugh.

"What time is it?" Elliott asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"2:30. You've basically slept the entire day away Elle, that's not like you." David said teasingly.

"Oh shut up, I was up at 4am for the flight. I get to sleep." Elliott retorted, rolling her eyes. "So you settled in here?"

"I mean I guess. My room here is bigger than my entire apartment. How long do I have to be here for?" David asked, obviously uncomfortable with the whole situation.

"A while, probably forever to be honest." Elliott responded, knowing David still had no idea what was going on.

"Elle, I can't stay here." David said.

"Yes you can, it's not a big deal. Not to mention it works out perfectly, now you don't have to worry about paying rent so you can focus more on school." Elliott replied.

"Elle, that's not fair to anyone. Cordelia doesn't have to house me; I can get another job." David said.

"You are working two jobs to pay rent AND going to school full time, you can't keep that up, not if you don't want your grades to slip. You need time to sleep David." Elliott said.

"I was doing just fine, I can handle it. When can I leave?" David asked, not liking taking handouts from anyone.

"Not anytime soon." Elliott replied again.

"What exactly is going on that's so important I have to stay here?" David asked.

Elliott sighed before explaining, "So, I guess my dad was a witch hunter, they literally kill witches. And technically I wasn't even supposed to get my abilities because witch hunters have a sort of block that protects them from witches, so mine should have cancelled out, but I got both, so the others powers don't work on me. The other school found out and got mad, said I shouldn't exist and that they needed to kill me because if they didn't I would turn on them and kill everyone." David's eyes got wide but Elliott continued, "Well Cordelia obviously wasn't ok with that and told them no, so they told the witch hunters that I existed and now since they know about me we think they are going to try and turn me to their side, which is where you come in."

"So you think they're going to take me to get you?" David asked, trying to process everything. He didn't know much about the witches except that they existed, he had no idea about witch hunters or anything like that.

"We don't know but Cordelia doesn't want to risk it. You're safer here, at least until we figure out what's going on." Elliott said honestly.

"So your dad is a witch hunter? How the hell did that happen?" David asked, now curious about everything.

"I don't know; I haven't really asked. It just feels invasive to me. He was married to Cordelia and she doesn't really talk about him at all. He's dead now so I guess it doesn't really matter all that much." Elliott explained.

"Wait he's dead? How do you know that?" David asked.

"He's the guy who shot up the shop a while ago. Remember that?" Elliott said, David nodding at her.

"But don't you want to know about him? I mean, Cordelia would probably tell you about him if you asked." David said.

"I don't need to know, especially if it is going to drag up some bad shit for her, I didn't even want to know who my birth parents were in the first place. That shit doesn't matter to me; it's not going to change who I am or how I live my life." Elliott said.

"So you don't think you are at all like Cordelia?" David asked, curious.

"I mean, not really? Like we do share some stuff in common, but I don't think it's because she gave birth to me, it's because I've been around her long enough." Elliott explained. "I don't think your thoughts and actions are determined by your DNA, it's the experiences you have and the shit you go through."

"But you did these things before you even knew her, it's not like you changed overnight once you got here, you are still the same person you've always been." David replied.

"But you also have to remember I knew Fiona growing up, so even then we still had things in common." Elliott retaliated causing David to throw her a look. "Do you think your actions are dictated by who your parents were? Come on David, your dad fucking killed people but you don't have a mean bone in your body! Do you really think you're anything like him?"

"I could be. He seemed totally fine and normal, he never even raised his voice at me. Literally no one ever thought he could be capable of what he did until they caught him. I could be like that too, you never know." David said, his face getting darker.

"You're not like that, and I know you aren't. Sure to some extent who you come from decides some things about you like what you look like and maybe how you think, but that's about it. Your experiences are what makes you, you. You may think like your dad but there's something in you that lets you know that what he did wasn't ok and makes you who you are. End of discussion." Elliott said, standing from the bed as David rolled his eyes, not noticing that Cordelia had been standing outside overhearing the entire conversation.

The supreme quickly went back into her study as soon as she heard Elliott get up, thinking about everything she had just overheard. She hadn't meant to be snooping, she was heading in there to talk with the two of them, but once she heard what the conversation was she held herself back, wanting to understand a little bit of how Elliott worked. While it did sting a bit to hear Elliott say that she didn't think she was anything like Cordelia, she knew the girl wasn't saying it to be mean, and there was some truth to what she was saying. Besides some of Elliott's mannerisms and facial expressions she pulled, the two women were very different. Elliott was fearless, or at least she seemed to be when things got hard, whereas Cordelia completely let the fear consume her, eating at her from the inside out. Elliott was more loud and outgoing, taking over any room she was in, whereas Cordelia was more reserved and shy. The two were practically polar opposites, but somehow it worked.

Cordelia didn't even want to begin to unpack how Hank fit into all of this, but then again she didn't even really know who Hank was the entire time they were together. While Delia was grateful Elliott wasn't going to ask her about him, she also knew Elliott was curious and she couldn't blame her for that. Cordelia knew Elliott had been reading about witch hunters, and as much as she acted like she didn't care about knowing anything about him, the older woman thought she really did want to know, but was too nervous and scared to ask. If she did ask Cordelia would be open to talking about it, she wasn't going to hide her past from the girl, but it would be hard to talk about. Cordelia debated for a few hours whether or not she should be the one to instigate the conversation, since she knew Elliott never would, but she kept running in circles, wanting to just leave the man in the past.

The two teenagers stayed out in the greenhouse until dinner, Elliott teaching him all about the different plants and herbs and what they did. David was impressed, but then again Elliott had always been crazy smart. The two headed back inside and sat down with the other women for dinner, Madison shamelessly flirting with David. It didn't work, David somehow managed to take every remark Madison made and turn it into a joke with Elliott, which only infuriated the witch more. She wasn't used to rejection and she was already in a pissy mood, she shouldn't have had to fight with a 15-year-old for David's attention. Once the remarks had gotten to be too much and the older girl was obviously making David uncomfortable, Elliott stepped in and told Madison to knock it off, sending the older girl completely off the edge. Madison wanted revenge, she wanted to hurt Elliott, but she knew she couldn't actually do anything to the girl, so she set her sights on David, knowing she could make him do anything she wanted. She focused her attention on him, something Cordelia and Elliott noticed, but nothing happened, so she tried harder. Still, nothing, and she tried a third time. "Madison, knock it off, you can't make him make out with you." Elliott said, knowing what the girl wanted to do.

Madison broke her concentration, but was confused. There was no reason why that shouldn't have worked, she had easily done it to Kyle, this should have been a piece of cake. Cordelia looked at her curiously, but didn't say anything as everyone went back to their normal conversation. "Queenie, I can't get inside of his head." Madison said, whispering to the girl sitting next to her.

"Maybe that's because you shouldn't? Come on Maddie, leave the dude alone." Queenie replied a little louder than Maddie would have liked.

"No, I'm serious, it's not working, that doesn't happen. You try something. Do your voodoo shit." Madison responded, running through all the possible reasons why she couldn't get to him.

"Girl no, I'm not hurting him just because he doesn't have a thing for you, sorry." Queenie replied, shaking her head.

"Then you try and get in his head, make him drop a glass or something, I don't care. But something's going on." Madison said, having a hunch.

Queenie shook her head but complied, turning her attention to David, only to make Madison shut up. She focused, but nothing happened, not even a flinch. Suddenly she was just as confused as Madison. "I can't do it."

"See? This isn't normal. Try your voodoo shit, that always works." Madison urged.

"You know if I hurt him Elliott will lose her shit and I don't want to deal with that. Maybe he just has a strong mind, we've seen it before." Queenie responded, not looking up.

"Or maybe he's a witch hunter." Madison said seriously. "Come on, there's no way his mind is strong enough to overpower us."

"Even if that was the case, which it isn't, by the way, my voodoo wouldn't mean anything. I used it to kill Hank, remember?" Queenie said. She had to admit, she was pretty suspicious, but she also didn't want to start a shit storm by implying anything, not when everyone was so worked up about witch hunters.

Cordelia noticed the girls hushed whispers, but didn't say anything, figuring she would talk to them later, especially Madison about her actions, she knew better. Dinner went off just fine, Elliott was joking and laughing with everyone, but the two girls seemed off. Once things wrapped up and everyone was leaving, Cordelia told Madison she wanted to talk in her office, causing the young girl to roll her eyes. The two met upstairs and Cordelia tried to keep her voice contained as she lectured the girl. "Madison, you need to leave David alone. He's not interested and we don't need him feeling uncomfortable here, he already doesn't want to stay here."

"Maybe he shouldn't stay here." Madison replied shortly.

"He needs to and you know that." Cordelia responded, slightly confused by the younger witch.

"No he doesn't. He's playing everyone, our powers don't work on him at all." Madison said, the edge evident in her voice.

"You and Queenie were trying to mess with him? Madison come on." Cordelia said, not realizing exactly what the girl was saying, her sudden understanding slapping her in the face, "Wait what do you mean they don't work?"

"Exactly what I just said genius. They don't work, both me and queenie tried getting into his head, nothing. And you know exactly what that means." Madison said, a smirk on her face.

"Madison I get that you're upset, but really? You want to kill him just because he's not interested in you? That's far, even for you." Cordelia said, not wanting to believe what she was being told.

"You think I would make this shit up because he didn't want to sleep with me? Wow, you really are that out of touch." Madison said. "Go try for yourself, then we'll talk." She snarked, getting up and walking out of the room.

None of this made sense. Elliott had definitely been able to use her abilities on him, Cordelia had seen it herself, there was no way he was a witch hunter. But then again, Elliott was special, and the more Cordelia thought the more she realized no one else had ever tried to use theirs on him, there was never a reason to. Was David a witch hunter? Cordelia really didn't want to find out, because if he was then it would just complicate things further. Elliott had known him since they were kids, had he been lying to her all this time? Did he even know what he was?

Cordelia forced herself to stop thinking about it, chances were Madison was just being a brat, and there was an easy way to find out. The supreme went downstairs to where the two teens were in the living room, playing with Max. Elliott noticed her and smiled up at her as she sat on the couch, the supreme trying to keep her face neutral as she briefly talked with them. Everything seemed normal, but then again everything seemed normal with Hank, so Cordelia really couldn't say much about that. The two went back to playing tug of war with Max, and Cordelia took that as her opportunity, focusing on the boy and trying to get him to do something. She felt herself hit a wall, just like she did when she was trying to stop Elliott that day in the store, like running full speed into a solid iron gate, 100 feet tall. She pulled back and tried again, still nothing.

Elliott noticed the startled look on the supreme's face, "Everything ok?"

Cordelia broke her concentration and nodded at the girl, although it wasn't convincing, "Uh yea, sorry. Just thinking."

"About what?" Elliott asked, curious. The concern was evident on the supreme's face and it worried the girl.

Cordelia shook her head as she stood, "Just supreme stuff. I have to go back to work now."

Elliott looked at her weird as she walked off, normally Cordelia didn't hesitate to talk to Elliott, even about things she shouldn't. Something was off, maybe it was because David was there? Elliott tried not to worry about it too much, pushing the thought away as her and David played with the dog for another hour, David leaving to go to bed early, he had class in the morning.

Cordelia had sat up in her office staring at the floor, deciding what the fuck she was going to do. In theory she should just kill him, but real life was far more complicated than that. Cordelia didn't even know if he knew what he was, or if he would turn on them if he did know. He seemed harmless, but his existence was a threat to all the girls, and Cordelia had to think of them. The issue was if anything did happen to David, Elliott would never forgive her. Elliott looked at that boy like he hung the moon, there's no way she would believe he had been lying that whole time. "How the fuck am I going to tell Elliott?" Cordelia said out loud, talking to herself.

"Tell me what?" Elliott asked, coming into view in the doorframe, making Cordelia jump as she looked up. Elliott saw the terror on Cordelia's face and immediately got worried, her anxiety showing on her face as she asked again, her voice high pitched with panic, "Tell me what?"

Cordelia just stared at her for a moment, shocked that she had been caught so quickly. Cordelia at least wanted to have a plan in place before she told the young girl, but now that was out the window. She debated for a moment lying to her, if nothing else to calm the girl down, but Cordelia knew if she lied and Elliott found out, which she always seemed to, their relationship would be toast, if it wasn't already. "Sit down." She finally said, realizing that she really needed to know what Elliott knew about the boy before she made her decision. "You and David tell each other everything, right?"

Elliott nodded apprehensively, "Yea pretty much, why? Is something wrong?"

Cordelia ignored the question for the time being, launching into her next one. "What do you know about his birth parents?"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Elliott asked, just getting a stare from Cordelia, "I know a decent amount, but it's not mine to talk about. David doesn't like to bring them up or talk about it."

"Elle, I know this doesn't make a lot of sense, and I understand you wanting to protect David, but I need to know." Cordelia said seriously, causing Elliott to look even more confused.

The girl played tug of war in her mind, not wanting to betray her friend. However, if Cordelia was asking and was this serious about it, there had to be something going on, so she caved. "He lived with his dad until he was 5, his mom died when he was 3 in an apparent robbery at their house when David was there sleeping. His dad seemed like a nice guy but then they found out he killed a bunch if women. It later came out that he staged the robbery and killed his mom too. David hasn't seen or spoken to him since he went to prison. Why does this matter?"

"What was his name?" Cordelia asked, opening up her laptop.

"Alan David." Elliott said after briefly pausing, causing Cordelia to look at her strangely. "David was a junior and he hated it, so he always just went by David. When he got emancipated he changed his name. Can you tell me what's going on now?"

Cordelia held up her finger while she searched, going through any news articles about the case. There surprisingly weren't many, but Cordelia did manage to find one, she quickly scanned it and noticed all the names of the victims were familiar to her, all of them were witches, even David's own mother, whom Cordelia recognized from when she attended Robichaux's. He was an asset manager for Delphi Trust, which only made Cordelia's stomach roll. He was definitely a witch hunter, so now what?

Elliott kept pestering Cordelia as she looked, wanting to know what was going on, so Cordelia finally complied. "Madison and Queenie tried to get inside David's head earlier and they couldn't."

"Ok so? Didn't you say certain minds were impossible to get in for the weaker witches if they were strong enough?" Elliott asked.

"Well, yes, but I couldn't do it either, and I can get into anyone's head except yours." Cordelia replied

"Well that's because I'm half…" Elliott trailed of, finally understanding where this was going. "No. No way. He's not a witch hunter, I can get inside his head just fine, I mess with him all the time."

Cordelia took a deep breath before turning the screen towards Elliott, letting her read everything. "I went to school with his mother, she was a witch. The other girls he killed? All of them were witches too, I remember looking over their names when I took over the school. He may not be a witch hunter himself, but it's in his DNA."

"How do we know he was an actual witch hunter and not just a psychopath? It could all just be coincidence." Elliott said, her mind revolting against the information.

"He worked at Delphi Trust. It's the cooperation of witch hunters Fiona took out, the one Hank worked for. His father was the CEO." Cordelia explained, the mention of Hank making Elliott look up at her.

"But my powers work on him." Elliott said plainly, not believing this was even happening. She knew what they did to witch hunters, and she would never let that happen to David.

"Yes, they do, but you're a special case. We weren't positive if you could overpower the block on others, but it looks like you can." Cordelia explained, trying to calm Elliott down as much as possible.

"You can't kill him." Elliott said, getting more worked up by the second.

"I haven't decided what to do yet. I need to figure out if he even knows first. But he is the biggest danger to this coven right now. You understand that, right?" Cordelia asked.

"So what if he does know? He hasn't hurt anyone; he couldn't do that." Elliott said forcefully.

"You don't know that Elle." Cordelia said, trying to reason with her.

"So what? You think he's been lying to me this whole time? Shouldn't have he tried to kill me by now? He's known for years." Elliott said, her eyes blazing.

"Believe me it doesn't always work that way." Cordelia said, thinking about how long Hank lied to her.

"Are you really considering KILLING HIM Cordelia?" Elliott yelled, pacing back and forth.

"I'm not considering ANYTHING yet. Elliott, I know you care about him, and I won't hurt him unless I absolutely have to, unless it's a last resort, but I have to do what's best for the coven." Cordelia said, giving up on calming the girl down.

Elliott stopped pacing and just stood there, thinking. Finally, she spoke quietly, "If you kill him you'll have to kill me."

"Elliott let's be reasonable here." Cordelia said sternly, "No one is going to kill you. Stop saying that."

"We got here the exact same way, we're the same thing. Only difference is I got powers and he didn't. If he's a danger to the coven, so am I." Elliott said darkly, still staring at the floor.

"Elle, we don't even know what we are dealing with yet. Let's table this discussion for now until we know what's actually going on, ok?" Cordelia said, walking towards the girl, only for Elliott to step away from her. It wasn't intentional, but it was enough to let Cordelia know that Elliott was upset with her, which Cordelia understood, but it still hurt. "Let's go get some tea, calm down a bit before bed. Yes?"

Elliott shook her head softly, still drowning in her own thoughts. "I'm tired; I think I'm just going to go to bed." She said quietly, beginning to move towards the door, Cordelia stepping in front of her.

"There's some other things we need to talk about. Have some tea please?" Cordelia said softly.

"Can't we just talk tomorrow?" Elliott responded, the irritated edge in her voice evident as she went to step around the supreme once more, Cordelia grabbing her gently by her shoulders.

"No because if I sit on this any longer I'll get in my own head about it and then we'll never talk about it." Cordelia joked, causing the girl to look up at her. "Come on." She said, guiding the girl downstairs and into a stool at the counter, then turning to make the tea.

Cordelia made the tea and handed a cup to Elliott, which the young girl took but didn't drink, setting it down in front of her. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Hank." Cordelia said simply, turning to face the girl.

"I don't need to talk about him, it's not important." Elliott said quickly, looking down at the mug in front of her.

"Yes, it is. You need to know." Cordelia said, pausing before continuing, "I didn't know he was a witch hunter."

Elliott looked up at this, realizing the general direction this conversation was going and why Cordelia was bringing it up now. "You didn't?" She asked, knowing there was more to the story.

"We met when I was in college and we were seeing each other for a while. Fiona hated him, which only egged me on. He had no idea I was a witch, and then we had you. Neither of us wanted to give you up, at least not until Fiona got in our heads, but we did it anyways. After that things got rocky, both of us were pissed about letting Fiona get to us, and we took it out on each other, and eventually we broke up. I didn't see him for a few years, then I ran into him at a bar, and we got back together. I told him I was a witch, and we got married probably way sooner than we should have, which made Fiona furious, and then we started trying for another baby, wanting to make up for losing you. I couldn't have any more kids though, so we started looking at adoption. Then I got blinded and I found out he was cheating on me, so I filed for divorce. He kept trying to get me back, but I wouldn't listen. I didn't find out he was a witch hunter until after he was dead. That he had been using me to find girls. He was working for Marie, and after we separated she told him she wanted me dead, so he went after her to protect me." Cordelia explained, not looking up at the young witch the entire time.

"So why are you telling me this?" Elliott asked, her voice less irritated. It was obvious she was being told for a reason, but at that moment she couldn't understand what that reason was.

"Because it's not always black and white. Hank spent his entire life lying to me about who he was, what he was really with me to do, and he was awful for that, but he did really love me, and I know that. It's complicated. And whether or not David knows what he is, it doesn't mean he doesn't care about you." Cordelia said, walking over to the counter in front of the girl.

Elliott nodded, understanding the whole point of this. Cordelia could read her like a book, she knew the real reason Elliott was so upset about all of this was because she knew deep down there was a chance David did know, that he knew the whole time, and that hurt more than anything. The two sat in silence for a while, just drinking their tea, when they heard someone walk down the stairs, a sleepy David coming into view. "Oh, sorry, just needed some water." He said, stopping in his tracks once he saw the looks on the women's faces. "Everything ok?" he asked, already knowing the answer. Elliott wouldn't look up at him, which was only something she did when she was upset with him.

Cordelia sighed, she had planned on discussing everything tomorrow, but once again it looks like her plans were screwed. He knew something was up, his eyes never leaving Elliott. This conversation had to take place now, whether or not anyone wanted it to. "Come sit down."

Cordelia explained everything to him, about the girls trying to use magic on him, about witch hunters, everything. He listened closely but his eyes stayed trained on Elliott, waiting for any hint of a reaction from her, but she just sat there, stone faced. When she was done, David sat quiet for a moment, knowing what the next question was going to be. "I knew. Well, sort of. I got a letter from my dad a few weeks ago. He told me that he was a witch hunter, that our family had been doing it for generations, that my mom was a witch, but I didn't believe it, the dude was psycho. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to freak anyone out, it's not who I am, I'm not going to do that or whatever."

The three of them sat in silence for a few more moments, the two women not sure whether or not to actually believe him. He didn't seem dangerous, and he didn't seem like he was lying, but then again neither did Hank. Now it wasn't about whether or not he was dangerous, it was whether he could be. "I need to go through your head." Elliott said quietly, looking up at Cordelia. It was the easiest way of figuring out if he was telling the truth, and Elliott was the only one who could do it.

David knew what that meant, that they both were on edge as to what to do with him, and while that hurt he understood the reasoning behind it, everyone was scared shitless about witch hunters, and to find out he was one raised a ton of red flags. "Do it." He said simply.

Elliott dove in, searching through every single memory that had to do with his dad or anyone in his family, all of his dark secrets. David knew it was his father who killed his mother, but he never told police. His father had alluded to being a witch hunter several times, but never come outright and said it, just vague hints on doing the right thing and that his family had always been "Righteous men." Nothing that a 5-year-old boy would have caught onto. She saw when David first found out she was a witch, feeling every emotion he did, none of which were red flags, he really did care about her, at least that wasn't a lie. He wasn't lying, he did only recently find out, and Elliott watched him go back and forth on even opening the letter, throwing it in the trash once he realized its contents. She watched him struggle over whether or not to tell them, watched him cry over it. She pulled back, looking up at Cordelia, "He's not lying."

While relief flooded Cordelia's face, it was only for a moment. This just made her decision even harder, and while knowing he wasn't lying made things easier on Elliott, it made them that much more difficult for her. If he was lying, it would have been much simpler, she would just kill him. But now it was a question as to whether or not he could be swayed, and Cordelia didn't know him well enough to be the judge of that.

No one spoke, they all knew how delicate the situation was. David was teetering on a very thin line, one wrong move and he was done for, if he wasn't already. With Elliott, there was at least a reason to keep her around; not only was she Cordelia's daughter, but she also had proven she could overcome the block. She was an asset to them, and David was not. Finally, David spoke, "Look, do what you have to do. I get it, I'm literally your worst enemy. But I just want you to know I'm nothing like them, I wouldn't ever hurt you guys."

Cordelia nodded, "We can talk about what we're going to do tomorrow, I think we all need some time to process this and figure out what is going to happen, ok?" David nodded and got up as Cordelia started to put everything away, offering a goodnight before he headed back upstairs. Cordelia started to head upstairs, but stopped once she noticed Elliott hadn't moved, still sitting, mug in hand, staring at the counter. "You coming to bed?"

"I'll go in a minute. You go ahead." Elliott said quietly, not even bothering to look at the older woman.

Cordelia sighed and walked back into the room, sitting down in the chair previously occupied by David. "What's going on in that head of yours?"

"A lot." Elliott said softly, still staring straight down.

"Want to talk about it?" Cordelia asked, Elliott shaking her head in return. She didn't even know where to begin, thinking about everything and nothing all at once. "Elle, you know David better than anyone, do you think he's a danger?"

"I think anyone has the ability to do some pretty bad things when given the right set of circumstances." Elliott said, her voice quiet and emotionless and she finally looked at the woman. Was David dangerous? No, but Elliott also knew he protected the ones he loved, at any cost. If the witches made one wrong move, especially with Elliott, the young girl was very aware that he was capable of doing anything to protect her, even though he said he wouldn't hurt them. "I don't think he would outright kill us, all of us. But I do think he would go to extremes if it meant protecting me. I've seen him do it before. Just because he thinks you're on my side now doesn't mean he always will."

"We will be on your side, always." Cordelia said, trying to reassure the girl.

"You don't know that, shit happens." Elliott replied, shaking her head. "They could get to me and everything could go sideways, you have to protect the coven, that's your job. It's not always about me." Elliott wasn't blind to the fact that Cordelia valued her safety and happiness over everyone else, but she also knew she had to be the rational one when Cordelia wasn't.

"That's not going to happen…" Cordelia began before Elliott cut her off.

"It could. We can't keep pretending like it's not a possibility, as much as we don't want it to be. We have to think ahead." Elliott said forcefully.

"But you said…" Cordelia tried again.

"I know what I said, and I still stand by it. But it's not that easy. It's not like we know what they're going to try, it might have nothing to do with David. We can't keep pretending the sky isn't falling because it absolutely is. Maybe not right this second, but it's going to happen eventually." Elliott said quietly.

"And we'll deal with it if it does. But I'm not about to hurt either one of you just because something MIGHT happen, even if you do end up going postal." Cordelia said, trying to turn the conversation to something lighter, getting a chuckle out of Elliott. "As of right now, neither of you are a danger to ANYONE, should that change, we'll revaluate then." She paused, causing Elliott to look at her as she leaned over, "But living in fear of what might happen isn't a good thing either. You can't make permanent, life altering decisions, based on what could happen. That doesn't make you better, it makes you do a lot of bad things."

Elliott nodded at her, although she still didn't necessarily agree with her. While Elliott was trying to be better, she also knew herself far too well, and deep down she knew some way or another things would go terribly wrong, and it would all be her fault. It always was.

The two finally headed off for bed, and Elliott was very surprised Cordelia didn't make her stay with her that night. She almost wished she had, Elliott found she slept better when she was with the older woman, something about her was calming and made her stop thinking. But Cordelia didn't ask and Elliott still wasn't comfortable enough to instigate it, so there she sat, wide awake, in the dark. She didn't even bother to lay down and try to sleep, she knew it was useless, so she sat up in bed, staring at the wall. Her mind was racing, and not in a good way. While the girl was always in her head about a lot of things, she normally didn't let it get this dark, but tonight her racing mind was filled with self-hatred, finally processing what had happened over the past few weeks. She was bad, damaged goods that everyone was forced to deal with. As much as Cordelia tried to pretend that her being a witch hunter was fine and that they could manage it, she knew it was a lie. They were all scared of her, even if they didn't realize it. She was a time bomb, something they should've already gotten rid of, but there she was, still alive, somehow.

You are reckless, you are careless.

Those words repeated like a mantra in her head, the only time anyone had ever had a negative thing to say about her the entire time she was at the coven. Cordelia wasn't lying, and Elliott knew it. She was selfish, she was always so focused on herself, not really giving a shit about others. Sure, she had her good moments, ones that made her appear to be a good person, but deep down she knew how she really was, what she really was capable of, and that scared her.

Elliott was drawn from her thoughts by her door being pushed open, Cordelia peeking her head into view as she switched on the light. "You ok?" She asked softly.

"Yea I'm fine, why?" Elliott said, trying to seem as normal as possible as Cordelia stepped into the room and went to sit on the bed.

"I can feel you babe, something's off." Cordelia said, laughing softly.

"You can 'feel' me? What the hell does that mean?" Elliott responded, chuckling a little bit.

"It's a witch thing, we can sense when somethings wrong with people we consider family. Think mother's intuition on steroids." Cordelia explained, scooting back on the bed so her back was against the wall.

"Can you do it with anyone else?" Elliott asked, intrigued.

"I could do it with Fiona and Myrtle when they were alive, and Misty. As supreme I have it somewhat with all the girls, but none of them have woken me out of a dead sleep like you do." Cordelia said, poking at the girl's sides.

"Oh, it is ya. For a second I thought it was Max who was makin' all the noise. You're a little loud darlin'." Misty said, coming into view in the doorframe and leaning against it.

"I wasn't saying anything." Elliott said, confused as Cordelia laughed.

"Your anxiety Elle, I can hear it buzzin' through the walls." Misty responded, breaking into a small smile.

"You can do it too? Not fair." Elliott said sarcastically. Why did her block work on everything but the one thing she needed it for? "I'm always anxious, you should be used to it by now."

"This one's different. Normally ya are all buzzy like a bee. This one's lower, like electricity archin'. Somethin's wrong babe." Misty replied, coming into the room and sitting on the edge of the bed by Cordelia.

"Nothing's wrong. I just sometimes can't turn my brain off and I can't sleep and then I get anxious about it and it spirals from there." Elliott explained. She wasn't about to tell them she had been beating herself up for the past few hours, she wasn't ready to explain her dark side to anyone yet, or ever.

"Well what are you thinking about?" Cordelia asked quietly.

"I don't know, a lot of things. I just feel like something bad is about to happen, and I can't explain it. It's just a gut feeling, but it's never been wrong before." Elliott said honestly. Elliott had always been able to tell when things were about to go south, even when there was no rhyme or reason to it.

"That's the anxiety talking babe. You're so used to bad things happening that when they don't you get worried. But nothing bad is going to happen, at least not if we can help it." Cordelia said chuckling, "But even if something were to happen, you shouldn't be worrying about it, that's our job. We take care of you, not the other way around, you still have to be a kid babe. Let us worry about that."

"I can't do that, not when I still could be taken from here on a moment's notice. I have to worry." Elliott said quickly, not really thinking about the words coming out of her mouth. She got quiet after, realizing she had given to much of her inner thoughts away.

Cordelia sat quiet for a few moments, realizing what had caused the girls fears. The older woman had kept quiet about the adoption, not wanting to push Elliott before she was ready, but instead it just made her anxious. She was waiting for Elliott to come to her and ask about it, but Elliott had been waiting for her to bring it up, and she didn't. "Would it make you feel better if I restarted the adoption?"

"Not if you aren't ready to." Elliott said quietly, staring at her hands.

Cordelia laughed which caused Elliott to look up at her, "Babe I've been ready, I just didn't want to say anything until YOU were. I didn't want to pressure you. I can file tomorrow; I already have all the paperwork filled out."

"Looks like you two needa work on ya communication skills." Misty said laughing, causing the other two to laugh with her.

"Maybe a little bit." Elliott said laughing.

"Alright, I think it's time for everyone ta go ta bed, yea?" Misty said after, standing from the bed, pulling Cordelia up with her as she nodded.

Right as Cordelia stood and moved to walk away she could feel Elliott's anxiety spike again. She turned to the girl knowingly and said, "Come on my little worrier, you're staying with me tonight."

Elliott looked confused for a second before she remembered the woman could literally feel her emotions, her pretending to be ok was of no use, so she rolled her eyes playfully but nodded and stood, following the supreme to her room, closing the door behind her and sitting on the bed. "You know, you can always stay with me if you need to." Cordelia said jokingly as she went into the bathroom, "You can stay in here every night if you want to, I don't mind."

"I don't want to bother you." Elliott said as the supreme walked out. "Plus it's going to get weird when there's me AND Misty here. Your bed is big but it's not that big." She joked, getting a glare from the older woman.

"And what makes you think Misty is going to be in my bed?" Cordelia said jokingly.

"I don't know, maybe the fact that you guys are in love with each other?" Elliott responded as Cordelia tried to object. "Don't even, you already gave it away earlier when you said you could feel family, Misty is your family."

"I also said I had it with ALL the girls, not just Misty." Cordelia responded, trying not to blush.

"Yea you said that after you talked about Misty." Elliott said, giving the supreme a hard stare, letting her know she was caught.

"And what makes you think she's in love with me?" Cordelia said, narrowing her eyes.

"She can feel you too, that's why she got up, and she's not the supreme, so she doesn't have that with everyone." Elliott replied.

"She felt YOU, not me." Cordelia responded.

"Whatever you need to tell yourself. You are in love with each other. I don't make the rules I just follow them, y'all basically have to get married now, that's how it works." Elliott joked, causing the supreme to tickle her sides, making her laugh. "Stop it!"

"Slow down speed racer, we aren't even ANYTHING yet. I don't know what we are." Cordelia said, laying back on her side of the bed.

"You're overcomplicating this way too much. It's easy, you like her, she likes you. You both are aware of it and you aren't entertaining the idea of anyone else, you are in a committed relationship. That's it." Elliott said, still sitting up.

"It's more complicated than that. I just don't have time for a relationship right now." Cordelia said.

"No one ever has time for a relationship, you just do it. I know you have the coven to run and everything, but you're still human, just because you're the supreme doesn't mean you lose out on that part of your life." Elliott said softly.

Cordelia was about to respond when Max started whining at the door, begging to be let in. "He really hates being away from you, doesn't he?"

"It's just because I'm the one who gives him treats, you start giving them to him and he'll be all over you." Elliott joked.

"Well, let him in! Don't leave him out there, poor baby." Cordelia said, giving Elliott her best puppy dog face.

"Jeez, Madison was right, you're a huge softy." Elliott said as she laughed, getting up and opening the door. Max immediately jumped on the bed and started licking Cordelias face, which made her laugh. "Listen dude, if you want to sleep with me you can't take up the whole bed so I can't get in, scooch over!" Elliott said as she got into bed, Max immediately moving towards the edge so she could lay down, snuggling up to him, which made Cordelia laugh. "What? He wants to be the little spoon, don't judge him." She joked at the older woman, who just draped her arm over the girl and kissed her head as they fell asleep.


	25. Chapter 25

The next week went by smoothly. David was relieved when Cordelia told him she wasn't going to kill him, although Elliott still was a little mad at him for not telling her in the first place. Cordelia filed the adoption papers again, trying to get through the process as quickly as possible. She had taken a few days off from working to spend time with Elliott, the young girl finally convincing her to actually go on a real date with Misty. The two were in the middle of said lunch date when Cordelia got a call from Queenie. "Hey, what's going on?" Cordelia asked, confused. She had only been gone for a little over an hour, and it was unusual for the girl to bother her unless something was wrong.

"Uh, you need to come home. Elliott's social worker is here with some cops, says he needs to talk to you." Queenie said unsurely.

"Does Elliott know he's there?" Cordelia asked, knowing how the girl would freak out if she saw him.

"No, she's out in the greenhouse with Mallory. She's distracting her until you get here." Queenie said.

"Ok, I'll be there as soon as I can." Cordelia said, hanging up the phone and looking at Misty. "Elliott's social worker is at the house. I'm sorry we have to go."

"It's fine." Misty said, waving her hand, "Was he supposed ta come over?"

"No, it could just be a wellness check, but he has to talk to me." Cordelia said, trying to not worry.

Misty noticed her concern and grabbed her hand as Cordelia waved down the waitress for the check, "It's gonna be fine darlin', don't ya worry."

The two arrived at the house and Cordelia immediately started talking with the man by the stairs, noticing his concerned expression. "Hello, I'm Cordelia. What's going on?"

"Uh, we have to take Elliott with us." The man said, obviously not happy with the situation.

"What do you mean? Why?" Cordelia said, her voice rising with her panic. No way was Elliott going with them, she wouldn't allow it.

"Miss Goode, did you take Elliott with you on your recent trip to California?" The man asked carefully.

"Yes I did, is that an issue?" Cordelia asked, confused.

"You didn't clear it with CPS." The man responded.

"I don't have to because of the adoption." Cordelia said, she knew how the rules worked.

"You stopped the adoption, which meant that Elliott was a ward of the state and any travel out of state had to be known and approved by CPS. I'm sorry but we can't have that, she has to be moved out of the home until a judge signs off on it." The man said sadly as Elliott appeared in the doorway behind them.

"What's going on? Mama?" Elliott said softly, the concern on her face only growing once Cordelia looked at her.

"Elliott, go get your stuff, you have to come with me." The man said, Elliott looking at Cordelia, the panic evident on her face.

"She's not going anywhere." Cordelia said to the man, her eyes blazing, "Elliott just go back to the greenhouse, I'll come get you once we are done talking." She didn't even let her brain process the fact that Elliott had just called her mom, that would only break her heart further.

"Elliott you know the rules; whatever you don't have packed by the time we're done doesn't go with you. Go pack." The man said sternly, not looking away from the older woman.

Cordelia didn't say anything for a moment, she didn't want to tell the girl to go pack but she also knew if she didn't, the girl would leave with nothing, and she couldn't risk that. She looked over at Elliott and motioned for the girl to go upstairs and do as she was told, Elliott's face hardening as she did. Once the girl disappeared into her room Misty followed her up, trying to explain what was happening to her. Downstairs, Cordelia tried to talk with the social worker, "It was an honest mistake, are you really going to take her away because of one mistake? Can't we just write this off?"

The man shook his head, "Listen, I'm not happy about it either, but we don't give strikes on things like this, not when these girls are being trafficked. We can't let it slide. We didn't even know you had halted the adoption until it showed up on our desk that you refiled." Cordelia sat silent, trying to decide what she was going to do. She could get inside his head, make him forget about the whole thing, but he seemed to read her mind. "Look, the more of a fight you put up, the harder it's going to be to get her back. You do something drastic to keep her here? That's a huge red flag, no judge in their right mind would give her back, ever. You'd be finished. The best thing to do is let us take her and place her somewhere else, and then go to a judge. It might take a while, but it's the best option for both of you."

"How long would that take?" Cordelia asked, trying not to cry.

"Could be a few weeks, more than likely it would be a couple months, if she stays where she is supposed to. She can't be in the house, can't visit, nothing. You can talk to her on the phone or maybe have supervised visits, but that's it. If she runs away or comes back here, that makes it harder, and I know she's a big fan of leaving. If she leaves and we find her here and you didn't immediately tell us, she's not coming back." The man explained. "I'm sorry, I wish it didn't have to be this way, but it does."

"I need to go talk to her." Cordelia said, tears freely falling down her face. The man nodded at her and she walked up the stairs, desperately trying to hold it together as she approached the girl's door. She stood in the doorway as Misty tried to talk to Elliott, the girl ignoring her as she packed. The two finally looked up at the older woman, waiting for her to speak. "I'm so sorry baby." Cordelia choked out, breaking out into even more tears. Elliott's face fell, tears clouding up her eyes as she softly nodded, then continued to pack. Misty pulled Cordelia onto the bed with her, holding her hand as she cried, letting a few tears go herself. "I can get you some of my luggage for your clothes…" Cordelia offered, Elliott shaking her head.

"I'll just lose it. I can fit what I need in here, leave the rest of it." Elliott said solemnly, motioning to her backpack. "I'm done anyways." She said softly as she placed the last article of clothing in her bag, coming to sit on the bed with them.

"Where's your necklace?" Misty asked, noticing it wasn't around the girl's neck.

"I broke the chain; I don't want to lose it so it can stay here." Elliott said, looking down at her hands.

"I'll give you a chain, I have plenty." Cordelia said forcefully, not waiting for the girl's response before she left the room, heading to her jewelry box and pulling out a new chain for her. She paused for a moment, willing herself to not start sobbing, and took a deep breath before she headed back to Elliott, grabbing the locket from the dresser and stringing the chain through it before she locked it around Elliott's neck. "There we go." She said as Elliott gave a small smile. "We need to talk though, and I need you to listen very carefully ok?" Elliott nodded, looking up at the woman briefly with her cloudy eyes, one wrong move from a total meltdown, which only made Cordelia start crying again, her heart breaking. "I have to wait for a judge to say it's ok for you to be here, it could take a few weeks, or a few months, I don't really know. But in the meantime, you can't be in the house or be with me unsupervised, at all. If you do it will just make everything that much harder. You have to stay with your foster family, you can't run away. If there's a problem you tell your social worker and then tell me, I'll make sure you are safe and ok, alright? But you can't leave, for any reason ok? I need to know where you are. You have your phone and your charger, yes?" Elliott nodded, "Good. We can talk whenever you want, I don't care if it's 4am, if you need me I'm here ok?" Elliott nodded once again, looking back at her hands, which caused Cordelia to grab her face gently in her hands and force the girl to look at her. "Listen to me, you will be back here, ok? I'm going to do everything I can, I can promise you that, you just have to hang on for me, alright?" Elliott nodded and the supreme kissed her forehead, letting a few tears fall. "I love you, more than anything. I'm so, so sorry baby."

"I love you too." Elliott said softly. She was trying to remain strong, but really all she wanted to do was cry. She knew how hard it was to get kids back after they were pulled from the house, and as much as she wanted to believe Cordelia would get her back, in her gut she knew it wouldn't happen, things never worked out her way. She let Cordelia hold her for a few minutes, just sitting silently as Misty held both their hands. This sucked, like royally sucked. She didn't even want to think of the mess that was going to happen after she was gone, David returning from class only to discover she wasn't there anymore, she wouldn't even get to say goodbye.

Eventually, it was time for her to go, and she begrudgingly headed down the stairs to her social worker, the women following right behind her. The social worker quickly made a move for the door, signaling it was time to go, and Elliott's eyes welled up with tears as she turned to hug Misty. "It'll be ok baby doll, just hang in there." Misty whispered into her hair, the young girl nodding before pulling away.

One look at Cordelia and the girl broke, tears streaming down her face, she didn't want to go. Cordelia pulled her into a tight hug and the two cried together, Cordelia peppering her hair with teary kisses, just repeating "I love you so much, it will be ok." over and over again as Elliott nodded into her shoulder.

"I know; I love you too." Elliott said as she finally pulled away, looking Cordelia in the eyes and giving her a soft, sad smile that broke the older woman's heart into even more tiny pieces. Elliott finally walked toward her social worker and Cordelia was about to break down into sobs, desperately trying to keep it together until Elliott was gone. Once the door clicked closed however she was on the floor, Misty holding her as she finally let out the sobs she had been holding in. This was a nightmare, a true nightmare, and Cordelia was living it.

Meanwhile, Elliott tried to pull herself together on the car ride to her "new" home. Her social worker tried to make small talk on the drive over to remove some of the tension, but at that moment making him feel more comfortable was the last thing on Elliott's mind. She cursed herself for being such a mess, for letting herself be so vulnerable. She knew this would happen, her gut was never wrong. How could she be so stupid? She knew things never worked out right for her, so why did she let herself get so attached?

Every bone in her body was screaming at her to just walk away, to leave and never come back. She knew Cordelia would fight for her, but whether or not she would win was a different story. Immediately Elliott was thrust back into her old ways, her own self-preservation jumping out. Which was worse, leaving and causing her own heartache, or waiting for something that never came? Both were incredibly self-destructive, but at least one of those situations she could control. She knew she promised Cordelia she would stay, but she didn't know how long she could keep that promise. At least if she left, she would only have herself to blame, and that was much easier than blaming everyone else. Elliott didn't want to harbor that hatred towards anyone else, if she was going to get hurt she was going to be the one to do it to herself. She could handle hating herself just fine, she had done it for years.

The longer they drove, the more Elliott distanced herself from all of her emotions, her walls crashing back up, even higher than they were before. She wouldn't make the same mistake twice; she couldn't deal with the hurt again. She had managed to talk herself out of running away, at least for the time being, trying to have a little faith in her supreme. She would give it four months, if nothing had changed by then, she was gone. In the meantime, she had to distance herself from Cordelia, just in case things went south. Communication between the two would have to be minimal, although Elliott doubted Cordelia was going to play into that, she freaked out when her and Elliott were apart for longer than a few hours, to be honest Elliott was surprised Delia wasn't already blowing her up.

Once arriving at her new home, Elliott was immediately introduced to her new foster parents and her two younger foster siblings. The parents didn't have any kids of their own, and while they didn't seem too terrible, Elliott knew they were putting on a good show for the social worker. All her previous foster parents seemed fine at first, it was after that shit hit the fan.

Elliott didn't say much to anyone while her social worker was there, she of course answered questions when prompted but not much else, and after being given a quick house tour her social worker left and she went and sat in her room. She was lucky, in this house she got to have her own room, most places weren't like that. "We figured since you were so much older you wouldn't want to stay with the girls." Her new foster mom said. It was a nice gesture, but the two girls didn't seem to value Elliott's privacy much, as soon as she was left on her own the girls came to bother her, not even knocking on the door.

"Hi." The younger girl said, running into the room and jumping on the bed, starling Elliott, "I'm Cora. I'm five."

Elliott didn't really feel like talking, but the girls were little and cute so she complied, "I'm Elliott, I'm fifteen."

"Wow, so you're like a teenager?" The older girl said, sitting on the bed as well, "I'm Emma, I'm nine."

"Well nice to meet you Emma and Cora. Are you two sisters?" Elliott asked, the girls nodding their heads. "Well it's nice you two got placed together. Do you like it here?"

The girls looked at each other, then down to the floor. "It's ok." Emma said. "Gotta be careful though, if this place doesn't work then we gotta get split up."

Elliott nodded in understanding, she knew how difficult it was to find homes that would take siblings, a lot of her friends had gotten split up that way. "Yea, I'm sorry. Is there anything I should know while I'm here?"

"Not really. Just the usual stuff." Emma said, "Oh, when they fight you might not wanna go downstairs, we usually just hide in our room. Mister gets real mad a lot and messes her up."

"Does he ever mess you guys up?" Elliott asked carefully.

"Yea…" Cora said quietly before Emma shushed her.

"Only when we're bad usually. It's ok, we look out for each other." Emma said cautiously.

"Hey," Elliott said, turning towards the girls, "You don't have to be careful with me, I'm not going to tell on you. We all have to look out for each other."

Just then Elliott's phone buzzed, and she looked to see it was a message from David, telling her to text Cordelia when she got settled in because she was a mess. Elliott quickly sent a message to her saying she was safe and at the new place, sliding her phone back into her pocket. "Who are ya talking to?" Cora asked getting a glare from Emma.

"Oh, um.. just my family. They wanted to know that I got here safe." Elliott responded, not sure exactly what to say.

"You got a family? Then why are you here?" Emma asked.

"It's complicated." Elliott replied.

"Ah ok. We gotta family too, we got our mama, but she isn't doing so good." Emma said, "You got a mama?"

"Everyone has a mom." Elliott joked, getting a smile out of the girls. "I actually had two. I was adopted as a baby, but my parents died so I got put into foster care. A few months ago I met my birth mom and then she decided to adopt me."

"What happened?" Emma asked, curious.

"Just some legal stuff, that's why I got put here. She's working on it though." Elliott said. "What about you guys? Do you still see your mom?"

"Sometimes. She's trying to get better and get us back, but she told me I gotta watch out for Cora until then." Emma said.

"Well that's nice that you're looking out for her." Elliott said softly, smiling at the older girl. It was obvious Emma took care of her sister, that she was looking out for her and protected her, but it also made Elliott sad. The girl was nine years old, it shouldn't have been her responsibility. "And while I'm here with you guys, I'll look out for you too. We're family." The girls smiled at that, happy that they didn't feel so alone for once. They talked a little bit more before their foster mom came upstairs to tell them it was time for bed, the two begging to stay in Elliott's room, but finally they gave up, saying goodnight and heading off for bed.

Once Elliott was alone again, she pulled her phone back out to see a message from Cordelia. "How is it? Are they nice?" She asked.

Back at the house, Cordelia was curled up on the couch next to Misty, her eyes bright red from all the crying she had done that day. She desperately wanted to call Elliott, to at least hear her voice and know she was ok, but she knew if she did that she wouldn't be able to hold herself together, so she settled for texts, smiling when the girl responded, "They seem ok. I have my own room which is nice. They have two sisters staying with them too, but they're a lot younger than me."

Right after Elliott sent that message, the screaming started from downstairs, and soon after she heard things being broken, loud clangs that made her visibly flinch. This is what the girls were talking about. Elliott knew she should tell Cordelia the truth about what the girls had told her, but the woman was already so upset, this would only make it worse. Not only that, but she didn't want to risk the girls getting separated, and truth be told she felt inclined to stay and protect them. They were little, they shouldn't have to deal with this alone. So, when Cordelia responded, "That's nice you have your own room. Do you think you'll be safe there?" Elliott lied through her teeth.

"I think I can manage." She sent back.

"I called my lawyer and he's requesting a court date, you should be back here soon." Cordelia said, "I'm so sorry Elle."

Elliott let out an audible sigh. As much as Elliott knew Cordelia was hurting to, she was also angry at her for letting this happen. She tried to keep it together for her, to act like everything was fine and try to make her feel better, but she was dying inside. None of this would have happened if she just left Elliott alone, and while Cordelia obviously had a right to be upset, Elliott was the one who took the hit. Cordelia was safe at her coven, and Elliott was once again stuck in a hellscape she so desperately tried to avoid. She ran away so she wouldn't have to go through this again, but the universe had other plans. "It's ok." She responded, "I have to go to bed though, I promised the girls I would take them to the park tomorrow. Night."

She didn't even wait for Cordelia to respond before she put her phone on silent and plugged it in, she knew it would just be a slew of "I love you" and "I'm sorry" and she just couldn't deal with all her emotions at that moment. She willed herself to not cry, burying all her feelings, making herself completely numb to everything as she tried to lay down, blocking out the screams from below.

Once the screams were gone and the parents had gone to bed, Elliott heard her door creak open. She panicked, worried it was the dad coming after her, so she tried her best to pretend she was asleep, holding her breath. "Elliott?" She heard Cora call faintly, causing her to relax and open her eyes, shifting toward the voice. She saw both the girls standing in the doorway, visibly shaking.

"Hey, are you ok?" She asked softly as the girls moved toward her, Cora shaking her head.

"I don't like it, I'm scared." Cora replied, "Can we stay with you tonight?"

Elliott paused for a moment, trying to figure out exactly how this was going to work. Her bed was definitely too small for all three of them to fit on it, but she couldn't tell the girls no. She nodded and they all climbed in, squishing in like sardines in a can. The girls didn't seem to mind though, quickly falling asleep as Elliott played with their hair. It was times like this she missed being able to crawl into Cordelia's bed, at least that one they all could fit on. Once the girls were fully asleep, Elliott finally grabbed a pillow and moved to the floor, willing herself to finally sleep.


	26. Chapter 26

Cordelia had been pestering Elliott for days to call her, each time the girl coming up with excuses as to why she couldn't, which was driving the supreme crazy. While Cordelia avoided offers for phone calls and facetimes when Elliott first left, due to her not being able to even think of the girl without crying, she now was desperate to hear Elliott's voice and see her face, a hole being left in her heart. She tried to fill it with work, avoiding the rest of the girls and shacking up in her study, but each day that Elliott was gone left her more and more empty until seeing her baby was the only thing she could think about.

"I'm at the park, I don't have Wi-Fi." Elliott sent her after about the 50th plea from the supreme. She wasn't purposely avoiding her, Cordelia just had poor timing. Every time she wanted to talk Elliott was either not at home or she was listening to the screaming match downstairs, she couldn't risk Cordelia hearing it and throwing a fit, so she made excuses. Luckily her foster father hadn't had any outbursts toward her yet, but she did have a close call the previous night when she got in between him and the girls, and she knew her luck wouldn't last very long. Up until this point her only communication with any of the witches had been through text, although she did manage to give David a call one night after her foster parents had gone out.

"I don't care; we have unlimited data." Cordelia responded, making the girl sigh. She wasn't getting out of this, and her phone lit up only a moment later with an incoming facetime call, which she answered. "Hey baby!" Cordelia said, doing her best to seem happy as her eyes welled up from seeing the girl on screen, "How are you?"

Elliott playfully rolled her eyes and looked away from the camera, watching the girls out of the corner of her eye. "I'm ok, how are you? How is everyone?"

"Everyone's hanging in there, missing you. How is your foster family?" Cordelia asked.

"I miss everyone too. They're ok, the girls are sweet. They beg me to take them to the park every day, so I think I might have created a monster." Elliott joked, "Have you heard anything about the judge?"

"Not yet, I should be hearing soon." Cordelia said before she noticed Elliott wincing at something in the distance, "What?"

"Uh, Cora fell. I have to go check on her, I'll talk to you soon ok?" Elliott said quickly, already standing up.

"Ok, goodbye I love-" Cordelia said as the call finished, cutting her off.

The supreme sat there for a moment, looking at the empty screen. This was supposed to make her feel better, but it only made her feel worse. Something about Elliott was off, but Cordelia couldn't put her finger on what exactly. The conversation was quick, but it seemed normal, or as normal as it could be considering the circumstances. Elliott just seemed so distant, always turning the conversation away from herself, which wasn't unusual, but for some reason this time it hit differently. While Cordelia didn't expect the girl to be a complete mess like she was, she wasn't expecting Elliott to seem this ok either, which only made the supreme more worried. She mentally kicked herself for being upset that Elliott was fine, it was selfish of her to want the girl to be more broken up about it. She should've been happy that Elliott was doing so well, that she was safe, but Cordelia could physically feel the girl slipping away, and she wasn't ok with that, not even a little bit.

She was roused from her thoughts by a knock on her door. "Come in." She said quietly, trying to look busy as Misty peeked her head around the door.

"Hey, ya comin' down for dinner?" Misty asked quietly. Practically no one had seen the supreme since the night Elliott had left. She wouldn't come downstairs for dinner, she wouldn't talk to anyone, not even Misty, it was worrying to say the least.

"Oh, I can't, I have a ton of work to do." Cordelia said quickly, shuffling some papers.

"Dee you've been up here workin' for days. Take a break." Misty said, eyeing the older witch. She knew what Cordelia was doing, and it wasn't going to work, not if she could help it.

"I really can't Misty. I talked with Elliott and I didn't get done what I needed to. I'll take a break later." Cordelia said, the harshness a little more evident than the supreme would have liked.

"Ya talked with Elle? How is she?" Misty asked.

"She's good, busy, but good." Cordelia said, knowing Misty was expecting more from her, but truth be told that was all she got out of the short conversation.

"Is she actually good or is she just sayin' she's good?" Misty asked carefully, noticing how unhappy the supreme appeared to be.

"I don't know, she seemed fine, why?" Cordelia said harshly, the agitation clear enough to make Misty consider just leaving her alone.

"Just makin' sure. Ya know better than anyone that Elle is the queen of hidin' when she's upset, especially when she thinks it'll hurt ya." Misty said softly, trying to decide if she was going to leave or try and figure out what was really going on, shifting her weight in and out of the room. Cordelia's face fell and Misty finally decided to come in, sitting in the chair in front of the supreme's desk. "Ya know she misses ya like crazy right?"

Cordelia laughed at that, "Is that why getting her to talk to me is like pulling teeth?"

"She's hurtin' darlin', ya know that. She's puttin' on a brave face for ya, we all know she woulda rather stayed here." Misty said, trying to make the older woman feel better.

"Is she? Because it doesn't seem like it. I've tried to talk to her for DAYS and she always had an excuse, then I finally get her to actually answer me and she doesn't want to talk, she was on the phone for maybe five minutes before she hung up and she really didn't say anything. She didn't have a problem talking to David or messaging the girls, it's just me." Cordelia ranted, her eyes filling with tears.

"Dee, it's not that simple and ya know it. Ya were gonna adopt her. Hell, she even called ya mama. That girl loves ya, but she was just ripped out of here on a moment's notice. It's probably hard ta talk ta ya after all that cause she knows she can't do anything ta fix it, she's stuck, her whole life was just taken away. With all that she's been through and how hard she worked ta even let ya in? She's hurtin' baby, but she's doin' the best she can right now." Misty explained.

"How do you know? For all I know she's doing just fine without me, maybe she didn't care at all." Cordelia said loudly, her feelings finally getting the best of her.

"Because I've been there Dee, my whole family burned me at the stake, and they were supposed ta love me. It's hard ta let people in after ya been let down so many times, ya don't wanna get burned again. If I was in her situation I would do the same thing." Misty said, Cordelia finally getting a glimpse into how the swamp witch worked. "She's doin' the same thing you're doin', shuttin' people out, only difference is she's shutting ya out instead of everyone else."

"I'm not shutting anyone out." Cordelia said, knowing she was lying to herself as Misty just smiled softly at her.

"Ok, well I'm goin' down for dinner, ya should come down if ya feel like it." Misty said, standing up and walking out of the room.

Cordelia sat on it and considered going down just to prove Misty wrong, but the more she looked at all the work she had to do the more she decided against it, once again throwing herself back into it, anything to make the time pass. She stayed upstairs until everyone else had gone to bed, finally wandering down once she decided she needed a glass of wine, pouring a large one and leaning up against the counter, thinking about Elliott once again.

In the foyer she heard something move and instinctually looked up, spotting Max laying by the front door, staring at her. For a few days she forgot the dog even existed, the girls must have been taking care of him, which only made her feel more guilty. Max was her responsibility, she should've been the one taking care of him. He turned his head towards the door and wimpered, causing Cordelia to break into a sob. He was waiting for Elliott, just like Misty said he did, and for some reason that completely broke her. Max was Elliott's dog, the two were absolutely in love with each other, they were practically the same, and him laying by that door was a blaring reminder that Elliott was gone, a piece of Cordelia gone with her. She slid down onto the ground so she wouldn't have to look at him anymore, the island luckily blocking her view, and she cried, all the pent up emotions from the past week coming crashing down on her.

There was a chance Elliott would never come back, and that terrified her to no end. A judge could easily rule that she wasn't safe there, and that would be that, there was nothing Cordelia could do about it. That was if Elliott even made it long enough to see her court date, which Cordelia hoped she would, but then again Elliott had a habit of running off. Cordelia just had to hope that Elliott had faith in her, which was difficult considering Cordelia had absolutely no faith in herself, after all she was the whole reason Elliott got taken away in the first place, this was all her fault. Elliott should be upset with her, she should be angry, and to be honest it bothered Cordelia that she wasn't, Cordelia was furious with herself. She had been careless, too caught up in her own wants and feelings to even bother to check if Elliott could actually go with her. If Cordelia was in Elliott's shoes she would have run in the absolute opposite direction of her by now.

Cordelia let herself cry for a few moments before Max finally left his post and wandered over to her, licking her salty tears from her face. At first she pushed him away, but he wouldn't let up, so finally she gave in with a small chuckle. He really was Elliott's shadow, filling in when she was gone. Elliott would be furious that Cordelia was blaming herself, doing anything to make her feel better, just like Max was.

Once the supreme had calmed down enough, she stood up and grabbed the bottle of wine and her glass, heading towards the front door to let Max outside, setting the bottle and glass on the table next to the swing she sat down on, letting the cool breeze settle her nerves. She watched Max run around and chase after his tail for hours until the bottle was gone, pulling herself together. She needed to be stronger, if not for her than for Elliott.

You can sit here and cry and break some stuff if you really want to, and then you'll get back up and make a plan.

Elliott's words rang through her head over and over again, and the girl was right, she wouldn't get anything done if she just kept ignoring her feelings, and Elliott needed her to come up with a plan incase things went wrong.

She sat and thought for a while, coming up with nothing, until she finally got frustrated with herself and decided to call it a night, Max trailing inside behind her. She walked upstairs to her room and was surprised to find the dog still following her, straying from his usual post. She brushed it off, thinking he was waiting for treats as she went into the bathroom to get cleaned up for the night, but when she came back out he was lying on Elliott's side of the bed, fast asleep, causing the supreme to tear up once again. She debated kicking him out, not wanting him to remind her of the girl she lost, but something in her told her to leave him be, so she just quietly slid into the bed next to him and went to sleep.

Over the next few weeks communication with Elliott hadn't gotten any better, in fact it had gotten worse. Elliott's luck had finally come crashing down on her, a string of bruises covering her face and body. She didn't want to risk the supreme seeing them or give her any reason to think anything was wrong, so she skillfully managed to avoid every facetime and every phone call, coming up with a whole range of excuses as to why it wasn't a good time. In her foster father's defense, he wasn't actually going after Elliott, she just had a bad habit of getting in the way, trying to keep the girls as safe as possible. There were moments where Elliott almost broke down and thought of telling Cordelia or calling her social worker, but those quickly fleeted once she remembered the girls being separated, or thought of how this would all look on her file. She didn't want to risk being labeled "Highly violent" again, no way would a judge ever let her go back with that, so she just had to sit tight and stay quiet. One way or another, this would all be over soon.

Cordelia tried to open back up and spend more time with the coven, and for a while she did, but with each excuse Elliott made to avoid her, the more withdrawn the supreme had become once again. She tried to chalk it up to Elliott wanting to distance herself from her, which still hurt but Delia understood, but Elliott wasn't talking to anyone, not even David had heard from her. Cordelia had been waiting for Elliott to call her to tell her the court date had been set, not wanting to do it over text, but a call from the girl never came. Cordelia thought that maybe Elliott had given up on coming back, given up faith in her, and that hurt her more than anything else.

Finally, the stars aligned, Cordelia calling Elliott in the rare moment that her foster parents were gone and the girls were already asleep. She debated not answering the phone, afraid that she wouldn't be able to keep her secret from tumbling out if she spoke to the woman, but she also felt horrible for avoiding her, so she picked up the phone. "Hello?" She quietly said.

Cordelia was stunned she even picked up, so stunned she sat in silence for a moment before speaking. "Hey Elle!" she said, trying to sound as cheerful as possible. "How are you baby?"

"I'm fine." Elliott said before catching herself. Whenever she said she was fine she really wasn't, and Cordelia knew that, so she quickly tried to cover herself "I'm good, busy. How about you?"

"I'm good, busy too trying to get everything ready for the girls to come back in a few weeks. Hey, I have some good news." Cordelia responded, trying to pinpoint exactly what seemed off with the girl.

"Oh really? What?" Elliott asked, trying to seem as excited as possible, but she fell flat, her voice coming out more sad and lackluster.

Cordelia didn't seem to notice, her insides bubbly as she spit out the news. "We have a court date!"

Elliott didn't say anything for a moment, honestly she was shocked, she had really convinced herself this would never happen, that she would just be stuck there forever. "Oh really? That's great!" She said, her voice shaking a little, but she at least tried to cover it up with fake enthusiasm, "When?"

"A month from today actually. I know it seems far away, I tried to get them to move it up but I guess that was the absolute soonest they could do it, so we'll just have to sit tight until then." Cordelia explained.

"Oh no that's fine," Elliott said quietly, "it's not technically considered an emergency or whatever so I'm actually surprised it's that soon."

"Are you ok?" Cordelia asked cautiously. Something was definitely off, but for the life of her she couldn't figure out what.

"Yea I'm fine, just tired. It's been a long day and the girls were really crabby so I had to deal with that." Elliott said, offering a small laugh to make her story more believable.

"Oh, then I won't keep you up, get some sleep babe." Cordelia said, "I'll talk to you soon ok? I love you!"

"Yea, goodnight, love you too." Elliott said quickly as she hung up the phone, desperately trying to hold her shit together. While she was grateful there was finally a court date, a light at the end of the tunnel, it also made things so much harder for her, and honestly she just wanted to cry. She couldn't leave the girls alone in this house, it was too dangerous, but she also couldn't report them and get them separated either. They had already had a brush with death in the short month she had already been there, Emma calling her on the phone screaming and crying because their foster dad had gotten too aggressive with Cora, Elliott coming home to find her limp and not breathing. Luckily it was just a scare, her practically coming back to life in Elliott's arms, but it became obvious then that this house wasn't something they could survive on their own. Elliott had to get them out of there somehow, and right then the only viable option she had was to run away with them, which would absolutely crush Cordelia. Elliott tried to reason with herself that this place wasn't the worst she had been in, but truth be told it came pretty close, and even Elliott wasn't sure she would survive the month until her court date, but she had to.

As she laid down in bed she kept thinking about what she was going to do, and it became very clear very quickly that she couldn't risk talking to the supreme again, one wrong move and everything would fall apart, and the situation was already too fragile to begin with. As she fell asleep she found herself thinking that she just had to make it 30 days, 30 days until she was home.


	27. Chapter 27

The next two weeks Elliott cut off basically all contact with everyone. No phone calls, no conversations, nothing. She ignored the majority of Cordelia's texts, only giving her one word answers every few days to let her know she was indeed still alive, but barely. It wasn't until a month and a half after Elliott had left that anyone had actually seen her. It happened by accident, the girls deciding to go to the strip of shops down the street. Mallory was the one to spot her, screaming her name as she ran up to her and hugged her, startling the young girl. "Elliott! We've missed you! How are you? Are you ok?"

Elliott looked at her briefly before looking away, her eyes painfully empty as she shifted to pull her long sleeves even further down to cover her hands. "I'm fine. How are you guys?" She said softly, obviously uncomfortable. You could see the fear written across her face, and suddenly she wasn't their Elliott anymore. The loud, sarcastic joker she was replaced with a tiny, scared young girl.

It didn't go unnoticed the girl was wearing long pants and a hoodie in the middle of summer, and the girls were immediately concerned, but didn't want to say anything in fear of scaring her off. "We're hanging in there as best we can. Everyone misses you, it's been a mess. How are your foster parents, are they nice?" Mallory asked carefully, noticing the girl tug at her hood, giving a glimpse of the faint green fingerprints that were on her neck.

"They're ok. Listen, I gotta get going. It was nice seeing you all though, tell everyone hi for me." Elliott said quickly, her eyes scanning for the nearest exit before she took off, disappearing once again, leaving the girls shell-shocked.

They all just stared at each other for a moment, wondering what to do. It was obvious the girl wasn't ok, she was fucking terrified, and she resembled a skeleton more than a human being. That quickly ended their shopping trip, all of them congregating in the kitchen as they tried to think of what to do. "We have to tell someone, that's why she stopped calling." Mallory said.

"Yea but who are we gonna tell? If we tell Cordelia it will kill her, and Elliott obviously doesn't want her to know." Queenie said.

"Yea, telling Cordelia isn't a good idea." Madison said as Misty walked into the room.

"Tell Cordelia what?" Misty asked, eyeing all the girls as their faces fell. "What's goin' on?"

"We saw Elliott today." Mallory said, causing everyone to glare at her. "What? Someone has to know."

Misty was shocked, her mouth open as a million questions buzzed around her head. "Did ya talk ta her?"

"Barely. She was fucking terrified of us, she said maybe two things before she ran off. Something's wrong. She's lost a lot of weight, she was wearing a hoodie and jeans in the middle of summer. She pulled on her hood and I saw bruises on her neck. We need to do something." Mallory said as she teared up.

"I have ta tell Dee, she's gotta call the social worker." Misty said.

"She's already a mess, she's barely keeping it together Misty, you can't tell her. Can't you just call the social worker?" Madison asked.

"If somethin is going on and we keep it from her she's gonna be furious and ya know that." Misty said, already leaving to head upstairs, knocking lightly on the supreme's door.

"Now's not a good time." She heard from inside, ignoring it and pushing the door open anyways. "Misty, I can't talk right now I have work to do." Cordelia said, barely glancing up.

"Ya well we gotta, the girls saw Elliott today." Misty said, Cordelia jerking her head up to look at her, capturing her attention just like she knew she would. She relayed what she had been told to Cordelia, who's eyes quickly filled with sorrow and anger, picking up the phone and calling the social worker, who immediately went to do a wellness check.

"Why wouldn't she tell me? I told her if anything was going on to tell someone." Cordelia finally said after hanging up the phone, frustrated.

"She didn't want ta worry ya Dee. Ya know how she is." Misty offered her.

"How did I fucking miss it? I should've realized something was wrong when she wouldn't facetime me anymore, or when she stopped calling. I thought she was mad at me. How could I be so fucking blind? It was right there in front of my face." Cordelia ranted, quickly turning the blame to herself.

"Dee, ya couldn't have known, she's good at hiding it. Elle only lets ya know what she wants ta. It's no one's fault babe." Misty said, trying to console the older woman. The two sat in silence after that, waiting for the social worker to call them back with an update, which didn't come for hours.

Finally, the phone rang and Cordelia rushed to answer it, "Hello?"

"Hey, sorry I didn't call sooner, I had to wait for police to finish up. You were right, I pulled up just as the cops showed up, someone called in a domestic disturbance. She's unconscious and pretty badly beaten up, but the doctors are checking her out. I'm at the hospital with her right now if you want to come see her." The social worker said from the other side. Cordelia got the address and practically flew from the room, Misty trailing behind her.

Cordelia wasn't sure how to feel, she was angry as all hell, at Elliott's foster parents, at the social worker, everyone who had let her down. Her heart was broken and she felt like crying, but she was also incredibly happy that she was going to get to see her baby. Her heart was hurting and was soaring, and that confused her to no end. She quickly relayed the information to Misty as she tried to not burst into tears, and Misty just held her hand as she drove frantically to the hospital, not letting go until Cordelia walked behind the curtain and saw Elliott. She looked so small, lying there, her face covered with an oxygen mask and dark purple bruises littering any area of exposed skin, including her neck, which was one deep purple handprint. The social worker stood from the bed and pulled Cordelia out into the hall, and that's when she lost it. "How the hell does this happen? You're supposed to be making sure she's safe, that's your job." She practically yelled.

"I know, I'm sorry, had I known I would've gotten her out of there." The social worker said, trying to calm the woman down.

"It's your job to know! Did you not check on her at all?" She said quieter, but dripping with just as much venom.

"I checked on her every week. I asked her about it, there was never any bruises when I went there, and even then I asked her point blank if anything was going on and she told me no. I can't do anything if she won't tell me Cordelia." The social worker explained, which caused Cordelia to soften, but only slightly.

"So what now?" Cordelia asked. She knew she couldn't have Elliott back yet, but she also couldn't bear the idea of Elliott getting moved to another home, especially if it was like the last one.

"I called the judge, pulled a few strings. You have an emergency court date in four days, in the meantime Elliott will have an emergency placement with a family I know VERY well. She'll be ok." The man said, and Cordelia had to resist every urge to hug him, settling on profusely thanking him as he smiled. "Now, the doctor looked at her and she has a pretty bad concussion and a bruised windpipe, that's why she had the oxygen mask. They want to keep her for a couple days to watch her, but she should be ok, no broken bones or anything. She was lucky, from what the wife told police he was beating on her and Elliott got in the way to stop him, which didn't go over very well. He's in custody and there's already charges filed against him, but unless he pleads not guilty, which he won't if he has half a brain, Elliott shouldn't have to deal with it. The entire time she's here it's considered supervised, so you can stay with her as much as you want. I have to go, but I'll be back tomorrow to talk with her about her next placement." He said, bidding the woman goodbye as he left, leaving Cordelia standing alone outside the curtain.

Elliott was finally starting to wake up, her eyes struggling to adjust to the light. Everything was too bright and too blurry, which only made her double vision that much worse as she tugged the oxygen mask off her face, getting Misty's attention. Because Misty was on the opposite side of the room, Elliott really couldn't make out her face, but she saw the wild curls and immediately knew who it was, although she wasn't quite sure the woman was even real. "Where's my mom?" She managed to croak out as she blinked rapidly, her voice and expression frantic.

Cordelia overheard and was flying back into the room before Misty even had a chance to respond, "Hey baby, I'm here." She said softly as she walked around the curtain, quickly moving to the girl's side and sitting on the bed, cupping her face gently as the girl tried to focus her hazy eyes, her thoughts all jumbled together as she fumbled to try and speak. "I'm here ok? It's ok." Cordelia said softly through a teary smile. Elliott was definitely out of it; you could tell by the expression on her face that she really didn't have any idea what was going on. The young girl didn't say anything, just nodded slightly, so Cordelia moved to pull her into a hug, wrapping her arms around the girl's shoulders.

Elliott was stunned for a moment, not believing any of this was real, but as Cordelia finally held her something broke inside, and suddenly she was sobbing and holding onto the supreme for dear life. Elliott didn't even understand what she was crying for, but Cordelia just held her anyways, letting her get it all out. "Shh, it's ok, you're ok. You're safe, it's all going to be ok baby." Cordelia whispered to her as she rubbed her back, letting a few tears fall herself. Elliott wasn't one to cry, at least not in front of anyone if she could help it, and the idea that whatever happened in that house traumatized enough to break her like that completely destroyed Cordelia. There was nothing she could do to fix it or make things better, all she could do was let Elliott fall apart and know that she was going to do everything in her power to put her back together again.

Eventually Elliott quieted down a bit but didn't loosen her grip on the supreme, not that Cordelia wanted her to, she just kept kissing her head and reminding her that things would be ok, wanting the girl to pull away on her own at her own pace. A drop in Elliott's oxygen levels was enough to alert the doctor that she was awake, and he casually strolled into the room, which finally got the girl to let go and look at him. "Hey, someone's awake. You took a pretty hard hit to the head. Do you mind if I check you out real quick?"

Elliott tried to form words, but nothing came out, so eventually she got frustrated and just nodded her head. "It's ok, it's probably going to be hard to talk for a little while. Your oxygen levels are getting a little low so I'm going to have you put the mask back on ok? All my questions are just yes or no." Elliott nodded as Cordelia looked concerned, sliding the mask back up for Elliott to cover her nose and mouth. "Ok, does your head hurt at all?" Elliott nodded. "Are you having light sensitivity?" Another nod. "How about blurry or double vision?" Yes. "Yes to both?" Yes. "Are you dizzy?" Yes. "Are you tired?" Yes. "Do you have ringing in your ears?" No. "Do you feel foggy?" Yes. "Can you remember what happened?" Elliott paused, her eyebrows knitting together as she tried to remember. She got flashes, but not the whole thing. "Just bits and pieces?" The doctor asked, causing her to break her train of thought as she nodded. "That's pretty normal, it'll come back. I'm going to shine this light in your eyes to check your pupils ok?" Elliott nodded as the doctor leaned it and shined his penlight really quick, pulling away when Elliott closed her eyes in discomfort. "Ok, your pupils aren't reacting right now like they should, which is pretty standard with a severe concussion. We'll get you some pain meds for your head and then we're going to keep you for the next couple days to make sure you're getting better, ok?" Elliott nodded, turning to look at Cordelia for confirmation, to which the older woman gave a slight nod as well. "I'm going to talk to your mom outside and then we'll get you all moved out of here."

Cordelia smiled softly then headed out behind the curtain with the doctor. "Is everything ok?" She asked quietly, her arms crossed in front of her.

"Yea, at least it should be, hopefully." The doctor said, making Cordelia's eyebrows crease with worry, "She has a very severe concussion, which obviously you know already, but our main concern right now is that she might develop a brain bleed. There was nothing on the MRI when we checked earlier, which is a good sign, but sometimes with concussions this severe they can happen later on and the symptoms are really easy to miss, that's why we want to watch her." Cordelia nodded in understanding, the worried look on her face only getting worse. "I also wanted to let you know that sometimes concussion symptoms can last for weeks and even months afterwards. She won't be herself for a while, and she's going to be frustrated. It can make her personality change, make her more irritable or more aggressive, there's really no way to tell unfortunately. I just want you to be prepared." The doctor said before waving down a nurse, telling her to start an IV as she walked behind the curtain.

"Hey sweetie," The nurse said as she walked into the room, "Can you stick out your arm for me? We are going to put in an IV so we can give you some medicine for your head?" Elliott's eyes got wide as the nurse reached for the purple band, and she shook her head violently as she pulled her arms towards her body, scooching back as far as possible. "I know needles aren't fun but it will take two seconds I'll be super quick." The nurse tried again, reaching for one of Elliott's arms as she shook her head again, causing her to jerk back and almost fall off the bed, her breathing becoming ragged as she reached for her oxygen mask, pulling it off of her face.

"Elle it's ok, I'll hold ya hand through the whole thing." Misty offered, reaching for the girl, but she pulled away.

"NO." Elliott screamed, alerting the doctor and Cordelia outside, who came walking back into the room.

"She won't let me near her." The nurse explained, the purple rubber band still in her hand, the needle in the other.

"Elle it's gonna make ya feel better." Misty offered, causing the girl to shake her head once again.

"I'll be good, I'll be quiet…" Elliott mumbled, causing Misty to look even more confused, but Cordelia realized immediately what was going on, and she walked over to Elliott and sat down on the bed.

"Elle, look at me." Cordelia said as Elliott attempted to train her eyes on her, "They need to put in an IV to help you ok?" Elliott shook her head again, causing Cordelia to reach for her and grab her face. "Nothing bad is going to happen baby, I promise. It's just to help." Elliott didn't say anything, just stared at her, terrified. "Do you trust me?" Cordelia asked, reaching to untangle one of Elliott's arms as the girl slowly nodded at her. "I won't let anything bad happen. Just focus on me, ok?" Elliott let her one arm be open to the nurse, but once the nurse moved to tie the band around her arm she frantically looked over and started to pull away. "Hey, don't look at her, look at me, ok? Focus on me, just breathe. It's ok."

Elliott's eyes became cloudy once again but she didn't look away from the older woman, trying to even out her breaths as Cordelia repositioned the oxygen mask on her face. She felt a pinch and winced, but stared at Cordelia regardless. "There, all done." The nurse finally said, releasing the rubber band as Cordelia let out the breath she had been holding. The nurse moved to push some medication into her IV, then quickly left the room.

"There, it's all over, it's ok." Cordelia soothed as she shifted on the bed, pulling Elliott towards her as she laid down, "You did so good baby." Elliott threw her a sarcastic glare, knowing very well that she in fact did not do good, she was a mess, which made Cordelia chuckle as she hugged her. "You tired?" Elliott nodded, then sat straight up and looked at her, pulling her oxygen mask down. "What?"

"You can't be here." Elliott said quietly, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"I cleared it with your social worker, it's fine. I'm here as long as you want me to be." Cordelia explained, pulling the girl back to her and running her fingers through her hair as the girl nodded. "He pulled some strings and we got our court date moved up, it's in three days." Cordelia whispered as the girl nodded again, not really processing the information.

Suddenly, she looked back up at the woman, "Wait, what?"

Misty and Cordelia collectively let out a chuckle, Elliott really was out of it. "It's in three days, then you can come home." Cordelia said, kissing the girls head. As happy as Elliott was about the news, something felt off, like she was forgetting something. Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion, willing herself to remember, it was on the tip of her tongue but for the life of her she couldn't think of what it was. "What?" Cordelia asked, noticing the girl's expression.

"I'm forgetting about something." Elliott said softly, still trying to remember what it was.

"What are ya forgettin' about?" Misty asked, causing the girl to throw her a look, quickly realizing her mistake, "Oh yea, that's a dumb question." Just then Elliott's stomach let out an audible growl, and Misty's did the same, causing everyone to laugh.

"I guess you two are hungry." Cordelia chuckled, "What do you want to eat?" Elliott shook her head, she didn't want food. "Elle you have to eat." Cordelia said sternly.

"Dizzy." Is all Elliott was able to respond with. She was already nauseous enough from the lights and the double vision and the room spinning, if she even tried to eat she was positive she would throw it all back up instantly.

"What if we got pizza?" Cordelia asked, Elliott shaking her head. "You don't have to eat it now, but if you decide later you can stomach it then it'll be there?" Elliott paused for a moment then nodded slightly before shutting her eyes, the lights becoming too bright for her. Cordelia noticed and flicked them off from across the room, still slightly illuminated by the ones in the hallway.

"Yea, that works. David is comin' up anyway so he can get it for us, that way no one has ta leave." Misty said, causing Cordelia to raise an eyebrow. "He's been textin' me like crazy askin' when he can be here, He's not gonna wait much longer."

Cordelia playfully rolled her eyes, then turned her focus back to Elliott, "How's your head?"

Elliott opened one eye, then both once she realized the lights were no longer blinding her. "Better." She said quietly.

"You tired?" Cordelia asked, noticing how lethargic the girl was. Elliott nodded, "Then go to sleep, it's ok." Cordelia offered, but Elliott just shook her head.

"Early." She mumbled.

A half hour later Elliott was moved out of the ER and into an actual room, David on the way with pizza. Cordelia managed to refrain from pestering Elliott with the questions she so desperately wanted to ask, knowing the girl was in a fragile state and that her memory was a little hazy. She didn't want to risk making her upset, so she kept quiet, even though she felt like she was about to burst.

While Elliott tried to fight falling asleep as much as she could, she ended up dozing off right after she got moved to the new room. The women didn't mind, it's not like she was particularly chatty anyways, so they just quietly conversed among themselves, trying not to wake her up. "I just don't know why she wouldn't tell me; this obviously wasn't a one-time thing." Cordelia said softly, glancing down at the bruised girl laying against her. Elliott looked awful and as much as Cordelia tried to keep herself together for the girl, she was quickly falling apart, she hated seeing her daughter like this.

"I don't know Dee, I'm sure she had her reasons." Misty offered sadly, knowing it wasn't going to make anything better.

"She could have been killed, Mist. Did she not realize that? I understand she didn't want to make me upset, but how is this any better?" Cordelia asked, Misty shaking her head in response.

"I had to protect the girls." Elliott mumbled, causing Misty and Cordelia to both turn their attention towards her. It was practically the first full sentence she had said since she woke up, and suddenly she remembered it was the girls she was forgetting about. "Where are they?" she asked, pulling herself up so she was sitting in bed.

"I don't know; we'll have to ask your social worker tomorrow when he comes back." Cordelia said, still not understanding Elliott's thought process. "Elle, wasn't the best way to protect the girls to actually get them out of there?"

Elliott shook her head, pausing for a moment as she tried to string together her words. "They were going to separate them. Call him." Elliott demanded, frustrated with herself for forgetting something so important.

"We can ask him tomorrow babe, that's not important right now." Cordelia said, trying to get the girl to focus on her own well-being, which only made Elliott even more frustrated. Cordelia didn't get it, she was never going to get it because she didn't have to live through it.

"Where's my phone?" Elliott said, pulling away from the woman and trying to get out of bed.

"Elliott, stop." Cordelia said sternly, trying to reach for the girl, but Elliott pushed her away, furious.

"No you don't GET IT!" Elliott yelled, turning to look at the supreme, her eyes blazing. She tried to stand, but fell back to the bed, Cordelia just sitting there shocked. Elliott never had outbursts like this, especially not towards her.

"Woah, what's going on?" David asked as he walked into the room, watching the scene unfold in front of him. "Elle?"

Elliott shook her head and tried to stand again but couldn't, falling back to the bed and slamming her hand down as she let out a frustrated grunt. "Dee, call him." Misty said sternly, not wanting the situation to escalate any further. "Elle, get back in bed, we'll do it." She said to the girl, pulling a still shocked Cordelia up from the bed and practically dragging her outside the room.

Elliott huffed and moved herself back onto the bed, still fuming as David came to sit beside her. "What's going on?" He asked softly, knowing whatever it was was really bothering her.

"She doesn't get it." Elliott huffed, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Doesn't get what?" David asked patiently.

"Everything. I just wanted her to call him." Elliott responded, her eyes filling with tears once again. She didn't even understand why she was so upset, and that made her even more angry that she couldn't control her own emotions.

"Your social worker? Why?" David asked, trying to get Elliott to explain everything to him.

"To see if the girls got separated." Elliott said quietly.

"Did they tell you they were going to get separated?" David probed, having an idea of where this was going, Elliott nodding in return. "Is that why you didn't tell anyone about what was going on?"

Elliott nodded again, "She doesn't get it."

"You're right, she doesn't." David began, "But do you really think yelling at her was the best thing to do? I know you're a little out of it, but you and I both know you're going to feel bad about it tomorrow."

"No, I feel bad about it NOW, I don't need to wait until tomorrow." Elliott said, rolling her eyes as Misty walked back into the room.

"The girls are fine, they're together at an emergency placement. We don't know if it'll stay that way though." She said softly, coming to sit back in her chair as Elliott nodded at her.

"Thank you." Elliott said softly before looking at David as he stood.

"I'm going to go get a drink. You two want anything?" He asked, both girls shaking their heads. He wandered out in search of a vending machine, only to spot Cordelia sitting in a chair in the waiting room. "You hiding out?" He joked, coming to sit next to her.

"Just giving everyone a break." Cordelia said, chuckling sadly.

"You know she feels horrible, right?" David said, causing Cordelia to look up at him and nod.

"She's right, I don't get it, not even a little bit. Why the hell wouldn't she just tell me?" Cordelia asked.

"I mean, you don't get it, but no one expects you to unless you've been through it. She shouldn't have yelled at you." David said as Cordelia looked back at the ground, and he tried to offer her some explanation. "When there's siblings, it's really hard to find places that will take both of them because most people don't want to deal with the issues that come along with it. Siblings tend to be protective of each other, which causes them to be more aggressive towards the parents. With each new placement it becomes more likely that they will split them up, and once they do that they probably won't ever be placed together ever again. It's up to the foster parents to help them stay in contact, but most of the time that doesn't happen and they never see each other again. It's happened with a lot of my friends from foster care, and it sucks."

"I get that she was trying to keep them together, I do, but she's in the hospital. They could have killed her. When is she going to start actually looking after herself? She got lucky this time, but eventually she won't be so lucky." Cordelia lamented.

"Elle protects people, that's never going to change, no matter how hard you try. It's how she grew up. We didn't have anyone looking out for us, so we had to look out for each other. It's a whole different world, we can't afford to be selfish, especially when it comes to kids, they can't handle it on their own. As messed up as it is, she did the right thing, even if it wasn't the right thing for her." David said. "But, she's always had a superhero complex, ever since we were kids. She wants to save everyone and she gets in over her head, she thinks she should be able to handle everything. Elle can say what she wants, but we all know who she got that from." David chuckled, looking at Cordelia as she rolled her eyes and scoffed. "And I know this doesn't make you feel any better, but Elle doesn't fight with people she doesn't care about or trust. She fights with you because she knows you'll still be there after, and that's not nothing for her."

"I do not have a superhero complex." Cordelia responded, narrowing her eyes playfully.

"Sure Jan. I'm going to go get drinks from the vending machine, you want anything?" David asked as he stood, Cordelia shaking her head. He searched for the vending machines forever, finding them hidden away on the opposite end of the floor, and got a lemonade for Elliott, a Mountain Dew for him, and as many water bottles as he could carry for everyone else, knowing one way or another they would all get drank. He made his way back to the room and found Cordelia back in bed with Elliott, the two had obviously made up, and they both smiled at him when he walked into the room. "I have supplies!"

"Are we going to war?" Cordelia laughed, looking at the mountain of bottles in his hand.

"Maybe, depends on how feisty Elle gets tonight." He joked back, getting a glare from the concussed girl.

"You're going to get a water bottle thrown at your head." She responded seriously.

"Ha, if you can see straight long enough to aim." He joked back, Elliott rolling her eyes.

"I didn't say it was going to be right now." She said deviously.

"You hungry yet?" Cordelia asked, trying to deter the conversation.

Elliott shook her head, "No, you guys should eat though before it gets cold."

Cordelia got up from the bed and started dispersing the pizza onto plates, handing them out one by one. As she moved with her plate to sit back down, she handed a slice to Elliott, completely disregarding her earlier statement that she wasn't hungry, which earned her a halfhearted glare from the young girl. Cordelia rolled her eyes playfully, then sat down on the bed and pulled out a knife and fork, cutting the pizza into small bits. Elliott looked over at David and Misty, all of them sharing concerned and disgusted glances, before she turned back to stare at Cordelia, who looked up at her. "What?" She asked, looking over at the other two and noticing them also staring at her.

"Dee, that's not right." Misty laughed, causing Cordelia to look confused.

"I'm horrified." Elliott said laughing, gesturing to the cut up pizza bits, "That is not how you eat pizza, at all."

"I wasn't going to say anything." David laughed as Cordelia's jaw dropped.

"What did I do wrong?" Cordelia asked, feigning offence.

"You can't make pizza proper, you just can't." Elliott said, shaking her head. "Now I know why we never eat it, because you can't handle yourself."

"How am I supposed to eat it?" Cordelia asked, amused.

"With your hands like a heathen." Elliott joked.

"But then my hands would get all greasy. I've always eaten pizza like this." Cordelia responded.

"That doesn't surprise me one bit." Elliott said sarcastically, causing Cordelia to poke her sides.

"It's supposed ta be messy Dee, that's the whole point." Misty joked.

"And here I was thinking you were cultured." Elliott said sarcastically, rolling her eyes as she took a sip of her lemonade.

The four of them continued to chat as they ate, Elliott not touching her food, but that was to be expected. Despite the nurses coming in and out of the room and prodding Elliott for more tests, the girl managed to fall asleep on Cordelia's shoulder mid conversation, signaling to everyone that it was time to call it a night. Cordelia forced Misty to go home with David despite her protests, the older woman really didn't want Misty to have to sleep on the floor again, and Cordelia needed her to go home and grab some things for her anyways, which was how she got the swamp witch to finally comply. Neither Cordelia or Elliott slept well that night, the nurses coming in practically every hour to check for any signs of a brain bleed, which only made Elliott even more crabby.

The next day the girls all came to see Elliott, laughing and giggling about things going on at the coven for hours on end. Elliott was relieved that the girls were there, as it took Cordelia's sole focus off of her. It wasn't like Cordelia was doing anything wrong, Elliott just didn't like being watched so closely, so when the girls showed up it meant Elliott didn't have to talk as much, which considering her concussion it was a good thing.

Speaking of concussions, Elliott's hadn't gotten any better, which concerned the doctors a bit. Apparently, according to what information the doctors were given about what happened, Elliott got her head slammed against a countertop pretty hard, but Elliott still had issues remembering exactly what went down, still getting bits and pieces, although it was slowly coming back to her. The doctor decided to keep her a third day to see if her double vision cleared up, which just so happened to line up perfectly with Cordelia's court date, meaning Elliott probably wouldn't have to go to another foster home if all went well.

Once the girls had left Elliott's social worker came by, briefly scolding the girl for not telling him about what was going on, to which Elliott rolled her eyes, causing Cordelia to tell her to knock it off. He asked her some questions for his notes as to what had happened in the house previous to the events the night before, to which Elliott told him what she could remember, which wasn't much. She just told him that the man and his wife would get into it every night, sometimes multiple times a night, and that he would beat the woman up regularly, but he only went after the kids a few times a week, and that most of the time his anger was directed at the younger girls, but Elliott stepped in to try and stop him, which resulted in her getting hit. She couldn't recall specific instances or details about why he got mad, just that it happened and it was frequent.

Cordelia surprisingly handled the information well, although she knew that if Elliott had gone more into detail she absolutely would have lost her shit. The older woman still felt insanely guilty, none of this would have happened if she was more careful, but Elliott did always say that things happened for a reason. Had Elliott not been there those girls would probably be dead by now, a fact Cordelia was reminded of when Elliott asked the social worker about what was going to happen to them. Much to Elliott's relief, their mother had just gotten a judge to sign off on her getting them back, so at least they wouldn't be separated, although the girl still worried about them.

The following night was when the nightmares started. Misty had stayed at the hospital that night because Cordelia had to leave early in the morning to get ready for court, and Cordelia didn't want to leave Elliott alone. Luckily for her, the nurses took pitty on them and brought them an extra bed that wasn't being used for her to sleep on, which was a much better option than the floor or a chair.

Elliott had fallen asleep early, much earlier than the other two women. While it was unusual for Elliott to sleep this much, the doctors had told the women she would probably sleep much more than usual in the coming weeks as her brain tried to heal, so the women didn't bother to wake her. Instead, they talked quietly amongst themselves on the opposite side of the room. "So has she started rememberin' anythin' yet?" Misty asked, gesturing over to the sleeping girl.

"Not that she's said, although I doubt she would tell me even if she did. I think it's starting to come back though; she's been more quiet than usual." Cordelia responded, looking over at the girl concerned.

"Well there isn't exactly much ta talk about when you're stuck in a hospital bed all day." Misty joked, getting a small chuckle out of Cordelia.

"You know what I mean." Cordelia said sarcastically, "She's off. I can feel it."

"She's hurt darlin', of course she's off. No one in their right mind would be ok after that. It's good that she'll be back with us though, at least then we can watch her." Misty said as Cordelia bit her lip and looked down at her hands. "Ya nervous about tomorrow?" Cordelia let out a strangled laugh and nodded, not looking up. "Ya know it's gonna be just fine, right? There's no reason a judge would say she wasn't safe with ya."

"You don't know that." Cordelia said softly, looking up at Misty with cloudy eyes. "I talked with my lawyer, and he said it could go either way depending on the judge. They could say no for any reason. It could be because I stopped the adoption, it could be because of the hate crimes, it could be that they just don't like witches. The birth mom thing is the biggest issue, surprisingly enough. It depends on how closely the judge reads the file, but if they don't like the fact that I'm her actual mother and I'm adopting her, I'm screwed."

"If that happens you'll just appeal it, and you'll keep appealing it til ya get one that says yes. She belongs with ya, anyone in their right mind would see that." Misty said, trying to be encouraging.

"No, filing for an appeal would mean Elle would have to go into another foster home and stay there. I can't do that to her, not again, not after this. She stayed because I asked her to, if I hadn't she would have taken off immediately. If this falls through, I won't stop her from leaving, I can't. It's selfish." Cordelia admitted. As much as she wanted Elliott to be with her, she had to prioritize the young girl's safety, and it was becoming increasingly clear that the foster system wasn't the safest place for her.

"If that happens we'll deal with it then. Hell, we'll take her ta the swamp, no one will find her out there." Misty said forcefully.

"I'm sorry, you want to leave my child alone in the swamp with ALLIGATORS? I'm trying to keep her safe Mist, not sign her death certificate." Cordelia snickered.

"She wouldn't be ALONE Dee; I'd stay with her. Ya know she would have a blast out there." Misty laughed, getting an eye roll out of Cordelia.

Suddenly, the energy in the room changed, the normal hospital buzz turning thick and heavy, like a room so humid you couldn't breathe. Misty and Cordelia felt it and stared at each other curiously for a few moments, trying to figure out what it might be, before they turned their gaze to Elliott. Everything seemed normal, she wasn't jerking or thrashing around, in fact she was completely still, too still. Cordelia's eyebrows knitted together in confusion as she stood, slowly making her way over to the girl and looking at her once again. She didn't want to wake her if she was fine, but based on the energy in the room, she wasn't, and it wasn't until Cordelia caught the heart monitor screen out of the corner of her eye that she realized why Elliott was so still, she wasn't breathing. Cordelia watched her blood oxygen levels slowly dip and briefly panicked, thinking something medically was wrong, but when she looked back at the girl it became clear by her pressed lips and squinched up eyes that she was actually holding her breath in her sleep.

While this calmed Cordelia down a bit, it still wasn't something that normally happened, and she waited a few moments to see if the young witch let go of the breath she was holding, but she didn't, so Cordelia tried to gently wake her by calling her name. "Elle? You have to wake up sweetie." She said gently, but got no response, so she tried again, this time pushing away the hair on her forehead. "Elle?" Still nothing, so she tried rubbing her back, nothing. By this point Misty was also concerned, so she slowly stood from the other bed and made her way towards the other two women, right as Cordelia grabbed Elliott's shoulder to try and shake her awake, and was subsequently thrown across the room, her head smashing into the frame of the other bed as Elliott sat straight up in bed and screamed.

"Dee!" Misty gasped, running to check on the supreme as she slowly sat up, startled. The loud commotion was enough to alert the nurses, who immediately rushed in to see what was going on, taking in Elliott crying and gasping for breath as Cordelia sat on the floor, reaching for the back of her head and coming back with a handful of blood, which only made Misty's eyes go wide.

"What happened?" A nurse asked, bending down to look at Cordelia's head as the other nurses gathered around Elliott in an attempt to calm her down, the young girls sobs only getting worse once she saw the blood on Cordelia's hand and realized exactly what she had done.

"I'm fine. She was having a nightmare and I tried to wake her up. She didn't mean to; it was an accident. I should have been more careful." Cordelia said, trying to stand and go to the girl, but was pushed back down by the nurse.

"She'll be ok, but we have to check you out." The nurse said softly, causing Cordelia to shake her head as she tried to object.

"I got her Dee, you let her look at ya." Misty said forcefully, grabbing the woman's hand briefly before she made her way over to Elliott, sitting down on the bed and pulling her into a hug. Elliott tried to pull away, her eyes wild as she frantically looked over at Cordelia and back to Misty, still gasping for breath. "It's ok, it was an accident. Just breathe darlin'." Misty said softly as she pulled Elliott tighter towards her, restricting her body just enough that she couldn't look over at the supreme. Elliott finally gave in and wrapped her arms around the woman softly, but her expression wasn't any less frantic as she tried desperately to calm herself down.

Cordelia was quickly taken out of the room and placed in an empty one, both for her own sanity and Elliott's. It was quickly decided that she would need stitches, and no one thought that it would be a good idea for Elliott to see that considering. Cordelia was still in a state of shock as she waited for the doctor, her legs bouncing rapidly beneath her as she waited. She didn't want to be there; she should have been with Elliott.

"So I hear there was a bit of commotion, huh?" The doctor asked as he entered the room, seeing Cordelia's impatient expression, "She's ok, they're getting her calmed down and giving her a mild sedative. Honestly she's more worried about you." This caused Cordelia to offer a slight chuckle, she should have known Elliott would be more concerned with her. The doctor pulled up a stool in front of her and pulled out a penlight, clicking it on. "You know the drill; we need to make sure now you don't have a concussion." She nodded and looked straight at him as he flashed the light quickly between her eyes. "This ever happen before?"

Cordelia shook her head, "No, never."

"Does she have nightmares often?" The doctor asked, trying to gauge if the woman was lying to him. He had seen it before, parents lying to protect their kids, even when it was hurting them.

"Yes, but never like this. I don't know what happened." Cordelia said honestly.

"Ok, well considering what happened to her, these nightmares are probably going to continue for a while. I know it's hard but honestly your best option is to just let her work through them, otherwise you could get hurt again." The doctor answered, turning her head to check out the wound.

"I'll be fine." Cordelia answered softly. No way was she going to let her child sleep through that, she didn't care about her own safety.

"Miss Goode, she threw you across the room, pretty forcefully. You're lucky you were in a hospital without any sharp objects. If this happens again at home, it could be much worse, one wrong hit and she could kill you. I know you want to help her, but the best option for BOTH of you is to get her into therapy, probably inpatient until she's more stable." The doctor said as he got out a suture kit, Cordelia shaking her head in response.

"I'm not going to lock her away because of something that's out of her control. I'm not afraid of my own kid." Cordelia said sharply, causing the man to look at her.

"You should be. Right now she barely even remembers anything that happened. Once she does, it will probably get much worse, and it won't just be when she's sleeping that she gets like this, it's going to be all the time." The doctor answered.

"You don't know her. Elliott wouldn't hurt a fly." Cordelia said, stunned.

"You're right, I don't." The doctor said, putting his hands up in surrender. "She might be fine, but I've worked with a lot of kids that have had this level of trauma, and by the way she's handling it, it looks like it's not her first time dealing with it. But eventually she's going to crack, they always do."

"You've dealt with a lot of foster kids?" Cordelia asked, now just curious.

"I worked with Social Services before I went to med school, and before I worked in the ER I was in the children's psych ward. I saw a lot of cases like Elliott, kids that rebounded quickly after trauma. But they weren't actually dealing with it, they were just burying it, and eventually they snapped. It wasn't on purpose and it wasn't their fault, but it led them to do some very bad things." The doctor answered while working on the stitches.

"What kind of bad things?" Cordelia asked.

"Some became addicted to drugs, self-harmed, stopped eating or sleeping. Others were worse, either they killed someone else or themselves, or majorly hurt someone they loved. I'm not saying lock her away and throw away the key, take her home and see how she does. But I am saying it's better if she has you, and if this keeps happening she might not." The doctor said, finishing up the last suture.

As Cordelia made her way back to the room she could hear the two women talking inside. "Elle, it's ok." She heard Misty say.

"No, it's not ok. Nothing about that was ok." She heard Elliott tearfully reply before a new wave of soft cries came out.

"It was an accident babe, she knows ya didn't mean to hurt her." Misty said, trying to console the girl as Cordelia walked into the room. Elliott's knees were against her chest and her head resting against them as she shook her head, not noticing the supreme's presence.

Misty just gave Cordelia a sad look as the older woman rounded the bed and went to sit next to Elliott, causing the girl to look up as she tried to pull her into a hug, but Elliott shook her head and pulled away. "Elle, baby, it's ok. Come here." Cordelia said softly.

Elliott shook her head again, it wasn't ok. She hurt her, the one person in the world who gave a shit about her. She didn't care that it was an accident, she still DID IT. She didn't deserve for Cordelia to try and make her feel better, she wasn't going to feel better about it, ever. She looked over at the other bed and saw a splat of bright red still on the frame, a blaring reminder of what she had done. She fixated on it until Cordelia and Misty noticed, the swamp witch standing up and walking over to it, wiping it off with a wet paper towel.

"Elle, look at me." Cordelia said stern but softly, but Elliott kept staring at the bedframe, even after the spot was gone it was still burned into her brain. "Elle…" She said again, a little more forceful before grabbing the girls face and turning it towards her.

Elliott still tried to look away from her, not wanting to make eye contact as her eyes clouded up with tears before they spilled over. She silently cursed herself before finally looking at the older woman, choosing to speak first. "Do not say it's ok because that was not ok."

"Baby, it was an accident, I know you didn't do it on purpose. Hell, you weren't even conscious for it. You didn't have control over it. It's not your fault." Cordelia said softly, Elliott looking away from her at the end. "Baby, look at me." She said, making Elliott look back at her. "I'm ok, it's ok. It was an ACCIDENT."

Elliott stared at her a moment before she burst into sobs, a string of "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" flying out of her mouth as Cordelia pulled her towards her body, holding her body with one hand and her head with the other, whispering to her to console her. She knew Elliott would never do anything to hurt her on purpose, she wasn't upset with her, if anything she was worried about her.

Elliott didn't sleep the rest of the night, even after Misty and eventually Cordelia drifted off, she couldn't risk it, not with Cordelia lying right next to her. She stared at the clock until Cordelia's alarm went off at 6am, then pretended to wake up with the supreme, talking with her as she gathered her things, then left with a kiss on Elliott's forehead and a promise to return with good news.

Once Cordelia had left Elliott briefly allowed herself to drift off, but never let herself actually fall fully asleep, it was still too dangerous and she didn't want to risk hurting anyone else, going as far as to pinch herself whenever she thought she might doze off.

Misty woke up around 10 to her stomach growling, and saw that Elliott was already awake. She briefly tried to talk with the girl, but didn't get much in the way of a response besides she wasn't hungry, so she left her alone for a little bit while she searched for the nearest vending machine, choosing trailmix as her breakfast.

The next few hours were solemn. Elliott was still being unusually quiet, although Misty couldn't tell if it was from nerves about the court date or the events that had transpired the previous night, but either way she wasn't going to push the young witch, afraid that she might snap. Misty beat herself up for being afraid of the girl, she knew what had happened wasn't Elliott's fault, but it still was a scary thing. When Misty saw Cordelia go flying she was furious with Elliott, a white hot rage filling her, even though she knew it wasn't on purpose. Maybe Elliott was right, maybe she was in love with Cordelia.

By the time the doctors were ready to discharge Elliott, Cordelia still hadn't returned. But, neither had her social worker, which was a good sign. The paperwork was all filled out, Elliott sitting on the edge of the bed fully dressed with her prescriptions, clutching her backpack as she waited for the verdict.

Finally, Cordelia appeared in the doorway, her face far too neutral for Elliott's comfort. "You have your stuff?" She asked softly, not breaking a smile, which only made Elliott even more anxious as she nodded. "ALL of your stuff?" Elliott nodded again. "Anymore paperwork to do?" Elliott shook her head. "Alright, let's go then." She said, a small smile creeping on her face.

"I get to go home?" Elliott asked, her voice quiet but excited.

Cordelia laughed, then broke out into an impossibly wide grin, which made Elliott smile back at her. "Yea, you get to come home."

Elliott practically jumped up, her face ecstatic as Cordelia moved to hug her, shaking her back and forth slightly. The young girl finally pulled back, looking at the supreme with a serious expression on her face."That was mean." Elliott said, "You can't just make me wait like that."

Cordelia chuckled, "You're right, that was a little mean. I'm sorry, I was just trying to tease you."

"It needs some work." Elliott said seriously as the three walked out of the room and headed towards the car, finally getting to go home.


	28. Chapter 28

Upon returning to the coven, Elliott had decided that the best way to avoid hurting someone with her nightmares was to not sleep, which was considerably difficult considering Cordelia was watching her like a hawk. While the idea of just not sleeping seemed bad even in theory, in real life it was much, much worse. The first and even second day where relatively easy, Elliott didn't really take into consideration just how tired her concussion would make her. In the beginning she was able to use it to her advantage by saying she was going to bed early, that way she could slip into her own room while Cordelia was busy and she wouldn't be forced to stay with the supreme. But as the days dragged on the harder it got for Elliott to even function, and suddenly she went from spending time with Mallory in the greenhouse to sitting in the library all day, trying desperately to keep herself awake.

By the time day three rolled around Elliott was basically a zombie, something everyone took notice of. The girl tried to counteract the sleepiness by drinking obscene amounts of coffee and napping in hour long increments throughout the day, but she soon got rid of the naps after she overslept during one of them, waking up in a cold sweat with a scream ghosting on her lips.

By day four Cordelia had called Elliott's therapist for an emergency session, she knew something was up. She had tried to chalk Elliott's distance from the girls and tired expression up to the concussion, but Elliott had also stopped eating completely, saying her stomach was upset. That day alone she had caught Elliott falling asleep twice, once when she went to check on her in the library and another when she forced the girl to go out in the greenhouse for a lesson, where Elliott had practically fallen asleep standing up. Cordelia had told the girl to go lay down in her room and take a nap, but Elliott refused, instead just grabbing another cup of coffee, which was the only thing she would drink these days.

"So how have you been doing?" The therapist asked, noting Elliott's disheveled and empty appearance.

"I'm fine." Elliott responded sleepily, not making eye contact with the woman. The therapist noted how frantic the girl looked, her eyes darting around the room rapidly, like if she stopped moving them they would close.

"Have you been having anymore nightmares?" The therapist asked quietly, knowing about the one in the hospital.

"Just one, otherwise I've been fine." Elliott said rapidly, shifting from sitting back on the couch to perching on the edge of it, not wanting her back to rest against the seat.

"Do you remember anything that happened in that house? I know when it first happened you couldn't remember much." The therapist tried again, trying to get Elliott to start a conversation.

"Yea, I remember now. It's fine, not any worse than what's happened before." Elliott said dismissively. It was obvious she was opposed to this session, which was a telltale sign that she actually needed it.

"Well it might not be any worse but that doesn't mean this didn't affect you worse than the other places, especially considering you went from a stable, good home to a nightmare." The therapist offered, peaking Elliott's curiosity.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, pain and trauma is relative. When you are in a string of bad homes, you're used to the bad so it doesn't affect you as much. But when you go from a good home to a bad home, it's a bigger change so you feel it more. Just because it wasn't your worst home doesn't mean it's not your worst trauma." The therapist explained.

"Oh, I'm fine, really. I'm handling it." Elliott said, trying to dismiss the woman.

"Cordelia says you haven't been eating." The therapist retorted.

"My stomach's been upset; it's not like I've been doing it on purpose." Elliott said, slightly offended.

"Well, how much did you sleep last night?" The therapist asked, knowing this session was just heading for a disaster.

"I usually sleep like four to six hours, depending on the night." Elliott said, looking out the window behind the woman.

"That's not what I asked." The therapist said, watching Elliott's body language close off.

"Well that's what I said." Elliott said shortly.

"Elliott, I want you to give me permission to talk with Cordelia about what's going on with you. I won't tell her specifics or anything you don't want her to know, but I do think she needs to be aware of some things so she can help you." The therapist said, hoping the girl would agree.

Elliott shook her head violently, "No, don't bother her. I'm fine."

"No, you aren't, and she knows it. You really think keeping her out of the loop isn't going to make her worry more?" The therapist asked, trying to make Elliott think rationally.

"It won't because there is nothing to worry about." Elliott answered, still being stubborn.

"Ok, let's talk about your nightmare then, Cordelia said it was a pretty rough one." The therapist said, changing the subject. She knew Elliott threw Cordelia across the room, and she also knew if Elliott really was fine then she wouldn't have an issue talking about it.

"I don't want to talk about it." Elliott said firmly.

"Why not?" The therapist asked.

"Because it doesn't matter, I'm dealing with it, it won't happen again." Elliott responded, the edge evident in her voice.

"Elliott, I can't help you if you won't talk to me." The therapist said softly, trying her best to get the girl to trust her and open up.

"I don't need help." Elliott said, "Can we be done now?"

The therapist didn't say anything, just nodded. There was no use keeping Elliott for the full session if she was going to be like this, and the more the therapist pushed the more closed off the girl became, which was detrimental considering the girl was supposed to trust her. Elliott stood and walked out of the room, passing Cordelia as she went. "You done already?" She asked, but Elliott didn't respond, just walked down the stairs and sat on the couch. Cordelia was confused and a little concerned, so she walked over to the library and looked at the therapist. "Everything ok?"

The therapist looked up at Cordelia and she knew everything was in fact not ok, so she stepped into the room and shut the door behind her. "You know I can't tell you anything, not until Elliott agrees."

"And she wouldn't agree?" Cordelia asked, trying to get some idea of what was going on.

The therapist shook her head, "It's not like I would have much to tell you anyways, she wouldn't talk about it, which doesn't surprise me."

"So what do I do?" Cordelia asked, the therapist shaking her head, afraid of possibly saying too much. "Do I have a reason to be concerned? Should I be concerned?"

"Yes." The therapist said, making eye contact with the woman.

"So what should I do? Should I get her more therapy?" Cordelia asked before her voice got quiet. "Should I put her in inpatient?" The therapist looked at her strangely, so she explained, "One of Elliott's doctors used to work in children's psych, he suggested it, saying Elliott was going to crack. I was against it at first, but if it's going to help her then I don't know."

"With a normal kid I would say yes, but Elliott doesn't function like a normal kid, or even a normal adult. While it might help her deal with this particular issue, she won't take it well, and it will probably do more harm to her relationships than good." The therapist said, pausing for a moment and debating on whether or not she could say what she wanted to. "A lot of times, with kids who have been where Elliott is, they don't see what they are doing as abnormal. She might have to have a breakdown to understand what's going on, which will be hard for you. All you can do is watch her, make sure she's eating, and actually sleeping. She'll probably be mad at you for it, but right now it's in her best interest."

Cordelia nodded, then talked with the therapist for a few more moments before she finally let her go. The two decided Elliott wouldn't be forced into therapy every day like they had originally planned, but instead the therapist would be on call in case something happened and the girl suddenly decided she wanted to talk, or in case of a total meltdown.

Meanwhile, Elliott was downstairs fuming. She knew her therapy session would just cause more trouble, there was no way the therapist wasn't going to tell Cordelia that something was definitely wrong, but in the moment she was too exhausted to bother to put on a good show. If Cordelia hadn't been up her ass enough before, she certainly was going to be now. At least now she wouldn't have to worry about trying to seem ok, but to be honest she wasn't doing a great job of that even before. She probably would be handling it better if everyone would just leave her alone, but even David had been bugging her constantly and it was starting to wear her down, and piss her off. She was fine, she was handling it the same way she did every other bad house, but this time she was under a microscope and that drove her insane. She didn't want to talk about it, she just wanted to deal with it. Right then her only concern was her nightmares, and she was dealing with those just fine, she could handle being a little tired if it meant she wasn't hurting anyone.

She heard Cordelia walk down the stairs and quickly tried to look busy on her phone, scrolling through the first social media app she could find as the woman came to sit next to her. "What?" She asked as Cordelia sat down, not looking up from her phone.

"How was therapy?" Cordelia asked, already knowing the answer.

"Fine." Elliott responded.

"Really?" Cordelia said, making it clear she knew what went on.

"Yea, it was fine." Elliott said, clearly irritated as she looked up from her phone and threw Cordelia a slight glare.

"Then why did you tell the therapist she couldn't talk to me?" Cordelia asked, curious as to the girls reasoning. She knew Elliott wanted to keep as much about that part of her life from Cordelia as possible, but if she really was doing ok then one would think she would be ok with Cordelia knowing that.

"Because there was nothing to talk about." Elliott responded, the edge still clear in her voice.

"I mean you're right, especially considering you cut your session short and wouldn't say anything." Cordelia pressed.

"Because I don't need to talk about it, it's over with and I'm fine." Elliott said, obviously over the conversation.

"If you were fine you wouldn't have an issue talking about it." Cordelia said.

"No, I am fine, but YOU think I shouldn't be. The only issue here is you. Now, was there a point to this conversation or did you just come down here to interrogate me with questions you already knew the answer to?" Elliott asked, making Cordelia's eyes go wide. Sure, Elliott was naturally sassy, but normally it was in a funny way, not like this.

"Hey, watch it. I'm just worried about you." Cordelia said sternly, which normally would make Elliott check herself and calm down, but not today.

"Yea I know, but you're walking around here treating me like I'm crazy when I'm not. The only person making me crazy is you." Elliott responded, looking back at her phone with a sigh.

"Fine, then let's eat lunch." Cordelia said pointedly, getting a glare from Elliott.

"I'm not hungry." Elliott responded.

"Elle, you've been saying that for days and you've barely eaten anything. You're eating, end of discussion." Cordelia said, standing and waiting for the girl to join her, but she sat there.

"I'll eat when I'm ready." Elliott spit.

"No, you'll do it now. You can pick what you want to eat, but you are eating. Let's go." Cordelia said firmly.

"Will you ever just leave me alone?" Elliott sneered.

"No Elle, I won't. Now come on, we'll have lunch with Misty." Cordelia said, hoping the idea of not having to deal with Cordelia alone would entice the girl, but it didn't.

"No." Elliott said, obviously getting worked up. "And you can't make me."

"Like hell I can't." Cordelia said, getting worked up herself, not realizing that both Misty and David had wandered into the room to see what was going on.

"No, you can't." Elliott said, standing up. "You don't like it? Send me back, I don't care."

"Elle…" Misty and David said together as Elliott walked out of the room and up to her bedroom, slamming the door. Both of them were shocked, as was Cordelia, Elliott didn't act like this, ever.

Meanwhile, Elliott was already beating herself up for actions. It was like someone else had completely taken over her body, her words flying out of her mouth with no control. Who was that? No way would Elliott ever talk to Cordelia that way, or say the things she did, it had to be someone else, but it wasn't, it was her. The image of Cordelia's hurt face when Elliott told her to send her back was burned into her mind. Why was she completely sabotaging her life here? She had wanted it more than anything, she was completely destroyed when they took her away, and now she was ASKING to go back? Had she lost her mind? The whole reason any of this was happening was because she was trying to PROTECT Cordelia, and here she was talking to her like she didn't matter?

"Has she ever acted like this before?" Cordelia asked David downstairs, trying desperately to make any sense of what was happening.

David shook his head, "No, never. This isn't her at all, she would never say that."

"Maybe it's the concussion? They said it could change her personality? Maybe she's just not thinkin straight?" Misty offered, although no one really believed it was the concussion.

"I should go talk to her." David said quietly, shaking his head.

"Do ya think she'll actually talk ta ya?" Misty asked.

"I hope so, probably not though. Did the therapist say something?" David asked, turning to Cordelia.

"I wouldn't know even if she did. Elliott won't let her talk to me. Maybe she's just mad at me?" Cordelia offered.

"Dee, no. That girl looks like day old dishwater, somethin's up. Maybe she's sick?" Misty said, looking over at David as he shook his head.

"No, Elle gets panicky when she's sick, not angry, and she certainly wouldn't start a fight. I'll talk to her, see if I can figure out what's up." David said, making a move for the stairs, knocking on Elliott's door. "Elle, it's me."

"Come in." Elliott said softly as David opened the door, coming to sit on the edge of the bed with her.

"I'm surprised you didn't tell me to fuck off given the display down there." David said chuckling, motioning to the living room, earning him a glare from Elliott. "What the hell was that?"

"I don't know." Elliott said honestly, and you could hear the fear in her voice, which didn't make David any less concerned.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean I don't know. I could hear the words coming out of my mouth but I couldn't stop them, I couldn't control it, it was like someone else was saying them." Elliott said rapidly, moving to stand up to pace, but getting lightheaded as she stood and falling back to the bed.

"Elle, when was the last time you ate?" David asked, getting a look from Elliott. "I'm not going to run and tell Cordelia, you can tell me."

"I don't know," Elliott said quietly, looking at the floor, "A while."

"Did you eat in the hospital?" David asked, Elliott shaking her head in return. "The foster home?" Elliott didn't respond, just kept staring at the floor, honestly trying to remember the last time she actually had a full meal. It wasn't like the family didn't feed her, she just wasn't normally around at meal times, always trying to stay out of there as much as possible, and then once she got back she just hid in her room with the girls for the rest of the night. It had been at least a week and a half since she had eaten a regular meal, probably longer judging by the way her old clothes were falling off of her. "You have to eat you know, you can't keep going on like this, you'll pass out."

"I know." Elliott said softly. She wasn't doing it on purpose, or at least she thought she wasn't. It's just even the idea of food made her stomach roll. But after the fight with Cordelia, Elliott wasn't even sure if it was on purpose, her outburst definitely made it seem like it.

"Have you been sleeping?" David asked, already having an idea of the answer. Elliott had skipped out on sleep before, especially in their foster home when their parents would get mad about her nightmares. He vividly remembered waking up in the middle of the night to see Elliott sitting up in her bed, reading with a flashlight as she desperately tried to keep herself awake, crying when he tried to make her go to sleep.

"Yea I've been sleeping. Not a lot, but I've been sleeping." Elliott responded. She wasn't going to tell him she had slept maybe four hours over the last four days, that she knew he would tell Cordelia about, and Elliott couldn't have that.

"Do you want to stay in my room? I can wake you up if you have a nightmare. I mean, Madison will make jokes about it but if it helps then I don't care, and honestly right now I think Cordelia would be willing to try anything…" David began, being cut off by Elliott.

"No, I don't need to stay with you. These aren't normal nightmares." Elliott said sharply. Cordelia hadn't really told anyone in the house of what happened, so he was clueless. He didn't realize just how dangerous her nightmares were, and she couldn't risk hurting him, even if it meant everyone was more worried about her.

"Elle, you're going to crash if you keep this up. You have to take care of yourself." David said.

"I am, let's go eat." Elliott said, knowing it would halt the conversation. If David kept pestering her she knew she would crack and tell him everything, and she couldn't risk that, not after all the work she put into it.

David nodded and pulled Elliott up with him, her fighting the urge to sit back down once she got lightheaded again. The dizziness slowly cleared and the two made their way downstairs, running into Misty and Cordelia in the kitchen. Elliott didn't even look at them, just moved around the kitchen and made herself a small bowl of cereal, to which Cordelia threw a questioning look to David, which he dismissed with a subtle wave of his hand. Cordelia and Misty carried on their conversation as if nothing was going on, they didn't want to make Elliott uncomfortable, especially considering her outburst earlier.

Elliott ate quietly then disappeared into the greenhouse, trying to limit her interaction with anyone, leaving the other three sitting alone in the kitchen. Once Elliott was out of earshot, Cordelia immediately turned her attention to David, "How come she fights with me when I try to get her to eat but with you she's fine?"

"You'd be amazed at what you can get Elliott to do when she doesn't want to have a conversation." David said, his mouth full of food as he chuckled, Cordelia and Misty just staring at him, perplexed. "No, seriously. You want to get Elliott to do something? Bring it up first, then move into something you know she doesn't want to talk about, she'll do it just to make you shut up. You just have to make her think it's her choice."

"So she didn't talk to you then?" Cordelia asked.

"I mean, she did. She's just as confused about the fight as you are, she has no idea where it came from, so it could be the concussion or it could just be that she hasn't been sleeping." David said as he took another bite.

"She's not sleeping?" Cordelia asked, concerned.

"She says she is, but I don't think so, at least not as much as she should be. She used to do that at our foster home so she wouldn't make the parents angry. She'll crash eventually." David said casually, shrugging his shoulders.

"Why would she not be sleeping? Does she think we would get mad at her?" Cordelia asked, confused as to why this was all happening. She had to admit, she didn't know the girl as well as she should by now, but it wasn't for a lack of trying, Elliott was just so guarded.

"No, I don't think it has to do with that. I thought that, which is why I offered to stay with her and wake her up if she had nightmares so she wouldn't bug anyone else, but she turned me down, said these nightmares are different, so it has to be the nightmares themselves. Maybe she's just scared of them?" David offered, still far too casual for Cordelia's liking.

"How are you so calm about all of this?" Cordelia asked, trying to not come across as angry.

"Because I know Elle. Yea, we should be concerned about her, this is some scary stuff, especially her not eating. But this is what she does with everything, she's a control freak. Something goes wrong and she overcompensates to try and not worry anyone, which just makes everyone even more worried because she's incredibly bad at it, then she crashes or has a meltdown, and after things get better. The day she actually manages to convince everyone she's fine is the day I get really concerned. Not that I'm not concerned now, because I am, but I know you won't let it get that far." David explained, making Cordelia roll her eyes a bit.

"So what you're saying is I have to be the bad cop in this scenario?" Cordelia asked, making Misty chuckle.

"Yea sorry. Elliott already knows your tricks, but she doesn't know mine. I can get her to eat, at least for a little while, but the sleeping one is all you." David said laughing. "On the plus side, she feels really bad about earlier, so she probably won't put up as brutal of a fight. You could also say it would make you feel better, if that doesn't get her to agree I don't know what will."

"Why would that make her agree?" Misty asked, confused.

"Superhero complex." David and Cordelia said together sarcastically, throwing each other knowing looks as Misty looked even more confused.

"What?" She asked.

"I'll explain later." Cordelia said, waving her hand dismissively as she stood, heading out to the greenhouse. She spotted Elliott slumped over the table, trying her best to revive a dead plant as Max laid at her feet. She muttered the incantation, but nothing happened, so she shut her eyes and tried again with more conviction, still nothing, and she let out an audible sigh as she pushed the plant away. "Having a rough time?" Cordelia asked, making the girl jump, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

Elliott shook her head, "You're fine. I don't know why it won't work, I could do it before."

"Well," Cordelia said, walking over to the table, "Our magic is rooted in our energy, so when something is off, it can affect our abilities. It'll come back." She reached for the plant, sliding it past Elliott, then placed her hands over it, letting out a slow breath as the plant came back to life, making Elliott let out a sad laugh.

"I forgot, you don't even need an incantation." She said, quickly turning around and going to do something else. She knew she owed Cordelia an apology, or at least some sort of explanation, but truthfully she didn't even know what was going on. She felt out of control, like a spectator in her own body, for a moment she even considered that she was possessed, but that seemed a little too extreme. "I'm sorry about…earlier. I shouldn't have acted like that." She offered quietly, not turning to face the supreme.

"Yea, we both got a little worked up, didn't we?" Cordelia said, chuckling, Elliott nodding in return. "Hey, come here…" She said to Elliott, the girl slowly walking back towards her. "I know you want me to leave you alone, I do, but I can't do that. Not when I know that you aren't ok, I can see it on your face, Elle." She said softly, brushing a stray piece of hair behind Elliott's ear. "I'm just trying to help. But, I know you want to deal with this your way, so I'll do my best to leave you alone. I do want you to stay with me tonight though." Elliott started to object, but Cordelia kept talking, "I know, you're fine, I get it. And after this I'll leave you alone. This is just for my own sanity, ok?" She watched Elliott's face, expecting anger to be present on her features, but instead she just saw fear.

Elliott swallowed thickly but gave a slight nod, pulling away from the supreme and making herself look busy gathering herbs from one of the plants. She was panicked, more than panicked, this was the exact opposite of what she wanted to do. She only agreed because it would make Cordelia feel better, but she immediately regretted it. She should've fought with her about it, made the supreme so mad she wouldn't even want to look at her, let alone be in the same room as her, but she didn't. She agreed.

So now what? She obviously couldn't actually sleep, but Cordelia would absolutely notice if she just sat up reading all night. Could she somehow get out of it? Elliott turned around to see the supreme still in the greenhouse, just looking at her.

Shit. She can literally feel you, dumbass. Your anxiety is probably off the charts, chill out.

She offered the woman a small smile then made her way back to the table, waiting for Cordelia to say something to her, but she didn't, she just kept working on her own plants.

Ok, let's relax and think logically, you can do this.

She could just pretend to fall asleep doing something else in her room, like reading or something. If Cordelia was more concerned about her actually sleeping, would she really go through the effort of waking her up to move her into her room? Wouldn't she just leave her there?

Probably not, it's Cordelia. She's going to drag you to her bed whether you like it or not, she knows something is up.

So that was the first plan, but chances are that wouldn't work, so what then?

You could always pretend to be asleep until she is, then duck out.

That was risky. Cordelia watched her like a hawk, and there was no way she would go to sleep before Elliott did. It's not like she could lay there with her eyes open, she would notice. Elliott felt the supreme's eyes on her once again and she knew she was being too loud, she had to keep herself calm. Elliott had enough trouble staying awake when her eyes were open; trying to stay awake when her eyes were closed was basically a suicide mission. But she had to do it, there wasn't another choice, not if she wanted to keep Cordelia safe. She couldn't afford to fail.

A few hours and about six cups of coffee later, Elliott and Cordelia sat at the dinner table with the girls, David having gone out for dinner with some friends. It was only a few days until the rest of the girls were back in the house for the new school year, and as much as everyone loved having all the girls together, they all knew they were going to miss it just being the seven of them. As crazy as that summer had been, they knew nothing would compare to the chaos of a new school year. At least this year it would be a little easier on Cordelia, teaching wise. Misty was taking over the classes in the greenhouse and Queenie, Zoe and Madison were each taking on a class during the day, leaving Cordelia with only one class to teach, the history of witchcraft. It was the one class no one wanted to touch, none of the girls seemed to take a liking to it and usually it was the class that caused the most trouble, history was boring.

Elliott stayed quiet through most of dinner, but that wasn't unusual these days. All the coffee had made her jittery and anxious, although Cordelia had pulled the plug on the coffee maker right before dinner once she realized Elliott drank a whole pot by herself. It didn't matter, Elle knew where Madison hid her Red Bulls, Cordelia refused to let any of the girls have energy drinks in the house, something about it messing with their magic.

Once dinner was over Elliott headed back out to the greenhouse, closing the door behind her before she pulled out Maddie's secret stash, dumping a can into her empty coffee mug. She felt like she was actually driving herself insane, her heart pounding in her chest and her thoughts too jumbled to make any sense. She was pretty sure if someone actually tried to talk to her at that moment she would thoroughly convince them she was having a psychotic break, although with the way things were going she might have actually been having one. She just had to make it through the night, then Cordelia would leave her alone.

A large part of her knew that would never be the case, Cordelia would be up her ass until the day she died, one good night wouldn't change that. However, this was her only option, so she just had to do it. She went back inside after drinking her drink, passing by Cordelia as she threw her empty mug in the sink, hoping she didn't notice how bad the girl's arm was shaking as she did.

Elliott changed into pajamas and sat on her bed, cracking open a new book on her lap as she tried to keep her eyes open. With how caffeinated she was it should have been an easy task, but her eyelids felt like they weighed a million pounds every time she blinked, all she wanted to do was give up and fall asleep, but she couldn't.

Eventually she heard the definite sound of heels walking up the wooden staircase, a giveaway of Cordelia's movements, and Elliott let herself slump over a little bit as she let her book fall onto her lap, leaning her head against the wall as she pretended to be asleep. "Elle?" Cordelia asked as she peaked her head around the door, smiling a bit when she saw the girl slumped over. For a moment she thought about just leaving her there, but something felt off. Not only that, but if the girl stayed in that position all night Cordelia knew she would have neck problems the next day. She walked over to the bed, and Elliott could hear the taps of her heels on the floor, she knew this wasn't going to work. "Elle, let's go to bed babe." Cordelia said softly as she sat on the bed, running her hands through the girl's hair as she groaned in response, making Cordelia chuckle. "Come on, up." She said, grabbing Elliott's hand and pulling her to her feet. "Let's go, march." She joked as she put her hands on Elliott's shoulders, guiding her back to her room and towards the bed. Elliott didn't put up a fight, but she also didn't seem pleased with it either, sitting up in bed and staring at her hands, her eyes a little wider than normal.

Just. Stay. Awake.

Cordelia took her sweet time getting into bed, leisurely changing into pj's and climbing in, cracking open a book on her lap. "It's ok, you can go to bed, I know you were sleeping." She said, noticing how Elliott wasn't laying down.

"I can't sleep with the light on." Elliott said quietly, trying to get Cordelia to turn out the light and just go to sleep.

Cordelia threw her a funny look, she literally just walked in on her sleeping with the light on, but she wasn't going to argue, so she shut out the light and slid into bed, pulling Elliott down with her.

Elliott faced away from the supreme and fought off the sleep that was so desperately trying to drag her down, listening carefully for when the older woman's breaths evened out. She felt her eyelids starting to droop, so she pinched herself to keep them open.

You. Can't. Sleep. Stay. Awake.

The more tired she became, the more panicked she got. She had to stay awake, she couldn't fall asleep, she couldn't hurt her. Elliott felt like she was going insane, her thoughts screaming at her, telling her to get up, to do something, anything to keep herself awake. She felt her eyes beginning to close again so she pinched herself hard enough to make herself flinch, but still, her eyes continued to fall closed.

No, no, no, no. Can't sleep.

Cordelia felt her flinch, she wasn't even trying to sleep, waiting for Elliott to fall asleep first. She wasn't dumb, she saw how much coffee she was drinking, how panicked she got when Cordelia told her she was sleeping with her. She knew Elliott thought she could be slick, but Cordelia could feel the panic that filled the room, Elliott wasn't sleeping, not even a little bit.

Once Elliott thought the supreme had fallen asleep, she shifted herself so she was sitting up in bed, her thoughts racing. She needed to get out of there, now. "You ok?" Cordelia asked, opening her eyes to look up at the girl, causing her to tense up even further. She didn't even respond to the woman, just sat there in an almost catatonic state, her breathing uneven. "Elle?" Cordelia asked, trying to get the girls attention. She thought she might have been sleepwalking, based on her lack of response, but no way had she even had a chance to fall asleep. She finally broke her trance, needing to do something, anything, to keep herself awake. This was it, this was the insanity, she had officially lost it. She got up from the bed and quickly walked out of the room, not paying attention as Cordelia flicked on the light and sat up. "Elle? Where are you going?"

Cordelia waited a moment, thinking maybe she just needed to do something and she would be back, but she heard the outside door open and close, and that was when she finally stood up, still confused as to what was going on. She made her way downstairs and towards the back door, seeing that the lights in the greenhouse had been turned on. She wandered out there, and watched for a moment as Elliott frantically moved around the room, her movements jerky and uncoordinated. She slowed for a minute, stopping at the table as she leaned onto it, and Cordelia saw a wave of panic cross her face, shaking her head rapidly, then returning to her frantic movements. "Elle, it's midnight. What are you doing?" Cordelia asked.

"Can't sleep." Was the response she got, although by the quietness in Elliott's voice and the panic, she wasn't sure Elliott was even talking to her at all.

"I can give you something for that. Come on, it's bedtime. You can finish this tomorrow." Cordelia said quietly, walking over to the girl as she shook her head.

"Can't sleep." Elliott said again as she walked away from the woman, picking up a plant and setting it on the table.

"Elle, I can give you medication to help you sleep, it's inside. Let's go." Cordelia tried again, moving towards the girl once more as she rapidly backed away from her.

"No, no, no, no." Elliott said loudly, becoming even more frantic and frazzled, if that was even possible. She wasn't paying attention to where she was going, and she tripped over a pot, falling back against the wall behind her as Cordelia tried to catch her, sliding down the wall as she brought her knees to her chest. She was going crazy, absolutely crazy. She tried to keep herself in check, even out her breathing, but she was on the verge of a total meltdown, her eyes too wide and her voice too quiet.

"Elle, I know you don't like taking medicine but it will help, I promise." Cordelia tried again, kneeling down so she was at eye level with the girl, who just shook her head rapidly.

"Can't sleep. Can't…" Elliott whispered, not even making eye contact with the supreme as her breath quickened once again. She was completely losing control, and Cordelia's confused face turned to one of concern quickly. There was something she was missing.

"Elle, have you been keeping yourself up?" Cordelia asked, realizing that Elliott might not be saying she is having issues sleeping, she might be having issues keeping herself awake, which would explain her frantic state.

Elliott stared at her a moment while her eyes filled with tears, she was caught, she couldn't do it. She failed. She nodded as she dropped her head onto her knees, crying as she went into a full meltdown, her body shaking as she tried to control her breathing.

"Sh, sh, it's ok. Just breathe baby. It's ok." Cordelia whispered, rubbing her hand on the exposed part of Elliott's back.

"Can't..." Elliott whispered, shaking her head back and forth. She wasn't making any sense and she knew it, but she didn't have the energy to care. Cordelia already knew she wasn't sleeping, it was only a matter of time until she figured out why.

Suddenly, Misty wandered out to the greenhouse, looking for herbs to help her sleep. She walked in the room as Cordelia looked up at her, her face filled with sorrow and confusion. "Elle? What happened darlin'?" Misty said as she moved towards the two women, kneeling down with Cordelia.

"She hasn't been sleeping." Cordelia explained, and Misty could hear the pain in her voice.

"Why?" Misty asked, but Cordelia just shook her head, she really didn't know.

"Can't…." Elliott squeaked out before her breaths got too rapid for anymore words to come out.

"Can't what baby?" Cordelia asked, but Elliott just shook her head, she couldn't speak long enough to tell her.

"Hurt." She managed to get out, but it didn't make any sense to the women, and they just looked at each other confused.

"Elle, we can't help if we don't know what's goin' on darlin'. Just breathe, it's ok." Misty said, trying to console the girl.

"Elle, show me." Cordelia said simply, realizing getting her to talk wasn't going to be an easy task. Elliott shook her head, a fresh round of cries leaving her body.

"How about ya show me?" Misty offered, getting a glare from Cordelia, which she ignored. She knew Elliott tried to shield Cordelia from as much of her pain as possible, but they somehow had to get some information out of her, even if it made Cordelia feel like Misty was undermining her. To be honest, none of them were even sure Elliott could do it considering her state, but they had to do something. Elliott didn't respond, she didn't even stop crying, but moments later Misty's own memory of Cordelia flying across the room played in front of her eyes, and suddenly it made sense. She couldn't sleep because she didn't want to hurt Cordelia, that's why she was working so hard to keep her distance and to keep herself awake. "Oh darlin', it wasn't your fault." Misty offered, which caused Cordelia to look at her questioningly. "She doesn't wanna risk hurtin' ya again, that's why she won't sleep."

Elliott started crying even harder, and Cordelia immediately went from kneeling in front of the girl to sitting beside her, pulling her towards her body, which Elliott resisted, causing the supreme to pull the girl literally onto her lap to calm her down, pressing Elliott's head onto her chest. She sat there silently until Elliott's cries started to cease, her breath still ragged, but not as bad as before. Cordelia looked down and saw how utterly exhausted she looked, like all the life had been sucked out of her, and it broke her heart. How could she fix this? It would be easy to fix Elliott being afraid of her own dreams, she could just promise to wake her up. Hell, she would stay awake all night if it meant Elliott slept. But Cordelia waking Elliott up was the problem here, and that was much harder to fix. Elliott couldn't control her own unconscious impulses, Cordelia knew that, and she wasn't upset with her about it. But Elliott was punishing herself for something she had no control over, trying to protect the supreme at all costs. How could she watch Elliott and keep her distance at the same time? "Elle, you need to sleep." She finally said, not knowing what else she could do. Elliott shook her head against her chest, which only made Cordelia sigh. "Yes, you do. You can't keep doing this, it's not good for you. We'll figure something out, but you need to let me worry about that, ok? You have enough to deal with."

Elliott didn't respond, so Misty took the initiative and reached for Elliott, pulling her to her feet. "Let's get ya up and in bed, ok? We can figure the rest of this out somewhere that isn't the floor." Elliott stumbled a little and Misty caught her, something that only made Cordelia grow more concerned. Once Elliott was stable on her feet Misty turned and pulled Cordelia up as well, herding them inside and up to the supreme's bedroom.

Cordelia quickly moved around the room grabbing this and that as Elliott stood there, and Misty tried to get her to sit down, but she refused. If she was upright, she could stay awake, although she was very aware that Cordelia wouldn't allow her to be awake for much longer. Misty could feel her energy pulse throughout the room, although it was much weaker than it probably should have been, which worried her. If her energy was fading out, that meant she was too, and the concern on Cordelia's face when Misty met her gaze confirmed it, she was scared shitless. "Sit down baby." Cordelia said quietly, although it wasn't really a suggestion, and Elliott knew it. She finally sat, but on the edge of the bed, one hand having an iron grip on her arm, bringing just enough pain to keep her alert. Cordelia walked in front of her and immediately noticed, choosing to sit next to her on the bed and removing Elliott's death grip on her arm, holding her hand to keep her from doing it again. "You need to take this." Cordelia said, holding out a small white pill. Elliott knew it was sleeping medication, and she shook her head, trying to pull herself away from the supreme. "Elle, look at me." Cordelia said forcefully, and Elliott snapped her gaze up to meet hers, the fear in her eyes on full display to the supreme. "You have to sleep, there isn't another option. I'll be ok." Elliott looked away from her, not for a second believing her, which caused Cordelia to let go of her hand and grab her face, turning it back towards her, "I'm not afraid of you, I'm not. You won't hurt me."

"I'm afraid of me." Elliott said softly, causing both Misty and Cordelia's hearts to simultaneously break. "I can't do anything about it, I can't control it. I can't keep hurting you." Elliott wasn't blind, she knew Cordelia well enough to know that she would keep trying to help Elliott until it killed her, or she killed her. She couldn't let that happen, not after all Cordelia had done for her.

"Hey, this isn't a forever thing, ok? It will get better, and until it does we'll make it work. But that's not for you to worry about, I can take care of myself, I know what I can handle, let ME worry about it." Cordelia said.

Elliott sat quiet for a moment, thinking. She knew she wasn't getting out of this, she had to sleep, so how could she do that without hurting anyone? "You can't wake me up." Elliott finally said, looking up at the supreme.

"Elle, I'm not just going to let you sleep through it. I can't. We'll find a way." Cordelia said, stunned that Elliott would even think Cordelia would agree to that.

"Maybe later we will, but if you want me to sleep tonight you have to promise me you won't wake me up." Elliott said, drawing her line in the sand. If Cordelia wanted her to be comfortable with sleeping, she was going to have to do it her way.

Cordelia opened her mouth to argue, the disagreement stamped right across her face, but Misty cut her off. "Dee…" She said softly, her expression pleading. Truth was she agreed with Elliott, she couldn't bear the idea of Cordelia getting hurt again either, regardless of how the supreme felt. She knew this would absolutely tear Cordelia up, make her feel like a failure, but at that moment it was a better idea than Elliott not sleeping and completely falling apart. Misty knew both of the girls were stubborn in their own right, but Elliott would let herself die before she hurt the supreme again, so the older witch had to concede.

"Fine." Cordelia said quietly as her face dropped, her eyes moving from the swamp witch to the floor, "I won't wake you." Misty let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding, and she saw Elliott nod at the older woman as Cordelia looked back at her. "But you're taking this." Cordelia said sternly, holding out that white pill once again. Elliott shook her head and went to say she didn't need it, but Cordelia was quick to jump in. "Don't think I didn't see you downing coffee like it was water, or that empty can of Red Bull in the greenhouse. You need it."

Elliott stared at her for a moment before reaching for the pill, taking it as the supreme handed her a water bottle to wash it down. "I don't think all the caffeine in the world could save me now." She said, although it sounded a little too dark for either of the older women's comfort. Cordelia pulled Elliott back onto the bed and after noticing Elliott's still panicked eyes, pulled the girl so her head was in the supreme's lap, running her fingers through her hair. Misty moved to sit on the other side of the bed, rubbing Elliott's back in an attempt to calm her down. Cordelia could physically see the young witch fighting off sleep, doing everything in her power to keep her eyes open, so she softly whispered, "It's ok, just close your eyes. Everything is going to be fine baby, just sleep."

The three of them stayed that way until Elliott's eyes finally closed and didn't reopen, which should have been a relief, but instead it instilled a new kind of fear in Cordelia, she couldn't wake her up, and that terrified her. Although the supreme was utterly exhausted, she had a feeling she wouldn't be sleeping, that it was going to be one long night. "She'll be ok Dee." Misty said softly, feeling Cordelia's anxiety, which made Cordelia look confused, but then realize that Elliott was indeed right, Misty could absolutely feel her. The idea should have made Cordelia's skin crawl, it should've felt invasive, all of her thoughts and feelings being on display for someone else, but it didn't. Instead, it made Cordelia's heart flutter, and it was in that moment she knew she was in love with Misty Day, wholeheartedly.

"What if she's not?" Cordelia asked quietly, looking down at the sleeping girl. "I did this, you know. It's my fault she got stuck in that house, and she's worried about ME. About hurting ME." She said quietly but angry, letting out a sinister laugh. "All I've done is hurt her, her entire life. I don't deserve her."

"Dee, ya didn't know ya couldn't take her, it was an honest mistake. Ya did what ya thought was right, that's what ya done her whole life, ain't nothin' wrong with that. Elle doesn't blame ya, and ya shouldn't either. Everyone screws up, she still knows ya care about her more than anythin'." Misty said with conviction.

"She wants me to send her back Mist. I know she said she didn't mean it and she didn't know what happened, but that didn't just come out of nowhere. She might think it did, but some part of her brain thinks that way." Cordelia said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Did ya ever consider that maybe she thinks deep down ya would be better off without her?" Misty asked, Cordelia staring back at her like she was insane. "It's not a reach Dee, especially considerin' the way she was brought up. There's a lot of dark stuff she thinks about when she thinks no one's lookin', I know you've felt it too. Not ta mention ya are over here talkin' about how ya don't deserve her. Ya two are peas in a pod with the self doubt, I'll tell ya."

Cordelia stared at her for a moment, "The phrase is "two peas in a pod" Mist."

"I know what the phrase is." Misty said, a smile on her lips, making Cordelia smile back at her, effectively changing the subject.

The two continued to converse for a little while until the conversation eventually lulled, Misty looking at the clock and noticing just how late it was. "I should get off ta bed, leave ya two alone for the night." She said softly, standing up and making her way towards the door.

"Stay." Cordelia blurted out, not wanting the witch to leave. She panicked at her outburst, at giving too much of her emotions away, and she quickly tried to recover as Misty stared at her. "I… I don't think I can do it, not wake her up, not if I'm by myself." It wasn't a lie, if Elliott had a nightmare Cordelia absolutely would not be able to keep her promise, not when there was no one there holding her accountable. Misty knew the supreme didn't ask her to stay because of Elliott, but she wasn't going to say anything, so she just nodded and walked back to the other side of the bed, climbing in as Cordelia shifted Elliott off of her and onto the middle of the bed, separating the two of them as Misty shifted the covers over the sleeping girl.

Cordelia didn't sleep, but Misty did intermittently throughout the night. Around 3am Misty was woken out of a dead sleep, the air in the room thick and heavy, and she rolled over to face Elliott and Cordelia, knowing Elliott was obviously having a nightmare. Cordelia stared at the girl, her eyes wide in panic, like the girl was a bomb about to go off any second. Misty knew she wasn't scared of the girl in the slightest, it was her own actions she was afraid of. Elliott lying there in pain next to Cordelia was like dangling drugs in front of a newly recovered addict, and you could see the tug of war on Cordelia's face, debating on waking her up. "Dee, don't." Misty said softly, causing the woman to look over at her.

"I can't do this." Cordelia said, her voice wavering. You could tell this was killing her, that Elliott's pain was killing her.

"She'll be ok, she'll wake up safe here with us." Misty said gently, trying to reassure the woman that she made the right decision.

"I have to wake her up." Cordelia said firmly, moving to jostle the girl.

"Dee no, ya can't. Ya do that and Elle won't sleep again. The only thing ya got on ya side right now is that girl trusts ya completely, ya can't ruin that." Misty said forcefully, standing up from the bed and walking around it, pulling Cordelia away from the sleeping girl.

"Misty, stop, I have to." Cordelia said, trying to wiggle her way out of Misty's grasp.

"No, ya don't, and ya can't." Misty said sharply.

"She won't hurt me, and she'll see she has nothing to worry about. It will be fine." Cordelia said.

"But what if it isn't? What if she wakes up and ya are hurt again? That will kill her, and ya won't get any more chances. Ya can't do that ta her, Dee." Misty said, knowing that would be the thing that made Cordelia stop.

"What am I supposed to do? I can't leave her like this." Cordelia said quietly, tears spilling over.

"Go for a walk, get outta here. I'll watch her. If it gets too bad I'll be the one ta wake her up, ok?" Misty said, Cordelia shaking her head.

"No, I don't want you getting hurt, this is my problem." Cordelia said.

"Either I can stay here and watch her and wake her if it gets ta be too bad, or I can come on the walk with ya. Which would ya like?" Misty said, letting Cordelia know there was no way she was waking Elliott.

Cordelia reluctantly agreed to take a walk while Misty watched Elliott, going down and sitting in the living room until the nightmare had passed. Misty made her way downstairs about 10 minutes later, smiling softly at the older woman. "She's fine, it's passed. I didn't even have ta wake her up. Now, let's get ya ta bed, yea? No use in wearin yourself out."

Cordelia stood and slowly made her way back up the stairs, entering the room and noticing how much easier it was to breathe. She slid into bed and kissed Elliott's forehead as Misty went to the bathroom, then climbed back on the other side, pulling the covers above her ears, which made Cordelia laugh. "Night." Cordelia said, sliding down under the covers herself.

"Night, love ya." Misty said, making Cordelia's heart race. She briefly panicked about the muttering of the phrase, looking down at Elliott to see if she had moved, or was somehow possibly awake to hear it as well, but she laid still. Misty looked equally as panicked, which somehow calmed down the older witch as she attempted to form an apology. "I'm.. I'm sorry, I don't know why I said that, it just slipped out."

"Mist, it's ok." Cordelia said, not even bothering to think as the words tumbled out of her mouth, "I love you too."


	29. Chapter 29

Cordelia woke up late the next morning to find a warm cup of coffee left for her on her bedside table as the soft golden morning light illuminated the room. She smiled softly and rolled over to see Elliott still fast asleep on the bed next to her, the space where Misty once laid was now occupied by Max, who rested his head on Elliott's back. It was a perfect way to wake up, something most people dreamed about, if you removed the events that had transpired the previous night from everyone's memory.

Still, Cordelia's heart swelled as she sipped her coffee, an obvious parting gift from Misty, and stared at her sleeping child. Elliott always looked so concerned, especially as of late, it always seemed like she had a permanent crease down the center of her forehead between her eyebrows, like she knew the world was about to implode. It was nice to see her so peaceful, her face completely relaxed. It made her look more like an actual kid, her head laid on the pillow, hair splayed haphazardly behind her. She looked normal. When was the last time she actually looked like a teenager? Or the last time she actually smiled? Not the half smile she made when someone said something funny, or the small, uncomfortable one when she noticed someone was staring at her, but a real genuine smile? Was it the day they got Max? Cordelia couldn't recall any moments after that, but she knew in that moment she would give anything to see that smile again.

Slowly, Cordelia made her way downstairs and into the kitchen, grabbing herself another cup of coffee as she spotted Misty sitting at the table. "Mornin'." Misty said, reading the last sentence of her book before she looked up and softly smiled at the older woman.

"Morning? Mist, it's practically afternoon, why didn't you wake me up?" Cordelia asked, chuckling as she leaned against the counter.

"Ya looked so cute sleepin', and god knows ya needed it!" Misty responded, causing Cordelia to blush.

"Well now I'm behind. The girls are coming back in two days and I have nothing ready for them. I'm screwed." Cordelia said, obviously frustrated.

"Ya are not screwed. All ya need for them is a room to shove em in." Misty laughed.

"Which I'm not even sure we have enough of those. Mallory and Coco are rooming together, which is fine, and Queenie and Madison are getting an apartment, which frees up two beds but with you, Elle, and David all having your own room that makes us short. I was going to give Elle a roommate but considering her nightmares I don't think that's a good idea, at least not right now." Cordelia lamented, letting out a sigh at the end.

"Well ya could always stick me with Elle, as long as she doesn't mind." Misty offered.

"Do you really want to live with a 15-year-old?" Cordelia asked sarcastically.

"I don't mind it, it's not like I'm not around her all the time anyways, plus then I can help too. Elle's family, it'll be fine." Misty said honestly, which only made Cordelia's heart race. As much as she loved Misty for being so close with Elliott, it also terrified her. She hadn't even considered what their relationship, or possible lack of relationship, would do to Elliott. Her thoughts quickly started to spiral, but Misty reeled her back in. "Is she up yet?"

"No not yet. I didn't have the heart to wake her up, it's the first full night of sleep she's gotten in god knows how long." Cordelia said, placing her now empty mug in the sink.

"Yea, I would just leave her, she needs it." Misty said, causing Cordelia to nod and the conversation to lull. "Sorry about last night by the way. I didn't mean ta go against ya, with her showing me, I just knew she wasn't gonna show ya."

"It's fine, we needed to find out one way or another." Cordelia said, dismissing Misty's apology with a wave of her hand, "I just don't get why she's so secretive with me, she had to know you were going to tell me anyways."

"She wanted ta protect ya darlin'. There's a big difference between me tellin' ya what's goin' on and her showin' ya, she wants ta keep ya innocent." Misty offered.

"So she thinks I'm naïve? That's why she won't talk to me?" Cordelia chuckled, trying to hide her offense.

"No darlin', not naïve. She thinks you're pure, that's not a bad thing. Ya got a big heart, everyone can see that. She doesn't wanna taint that if she can help it. That's why she shows me, cause she knows I'll get it." Misty said.

"Knows you'll get what?" Cordelia asked, curious.

"How much she loves ya, how badly she wants ta keep ya safe. She showed me cause she knew if I was in her position I woulda done the exact same thing." Misty said.

"It's not her job to worry about my safety, I'm supposed to take care of HER. Not the other way around, she's just a kid Mist." Cordelia said, frustrated.

"I know, and that's why I told ya." Misty said.

"So, what? If you weren't there she wouldn't tell me? It doesn't make sense. She knew you were going to tell me, and she knew I was going to make her go to sleep, so what was the point of her not telling me? It would have worked out the same either way." Cordelia asked, confused.

Misty was quiet for a moment, trying to think about how to explain it to Cordelia in a way she would understand, and a way that wouldn't make it blaringly obvious that Misty was irrevocably in love with her. She grabbed the bridge of her nose with her fingertips before deciding there wasn't a way to hide her borderline obsessive love, so she took a breath and dived in. "She wouldn't tell ya if I wasn't there. She was only gonna tell me because if she told ya without me she knew ya wouldn't look out for ya self. She needed ta know that someone understood why she was doin' it, and she needed ta know that no matter what ya would be kept safe. She told me cause she knew that I would rather die than let ya get hurt, and she trusted that I would keep ya from doin' somethin' reckless for her. That's why."

Cordelia sat silent for a moment, she finally got it. It was a balance, a sort of transfer of power. Elliott would only let Cordelia take care of her if she knew someone would be there to take care of Cordelia, and that was Misty. Before, Cordelia had only thought of her and Elliott as one unit, fitting together like two puzzle pieces. But now it was blaringly obvious that wasn't the case, and she wondered how it had slipped past her all this time that Misty was even a part of the equation, the third puzzle piece she didn't even notice was there. While Cordelia had done her best to take her and Misty's relationship slow, it was clear that it was progressing at the speed of light, and she wondered if Elliott had known it would be this way all this time.

Cordelia thought back on all their conversations pertaining to the swamp witch, every time Elliott had brought up their relationship. Elliott never put too much pressure on her, never went too far, but she always seemed to know something Cordelia didn't. How did she know before the supreme even knew herself? Was there something Cordelia was missing?

The two witches conversed for a little bit after, but Misty could tell Cordelia's head was somewhere else, and the younger witch worried she had said too much, scared the supreme off with her all-but-confession of her undying love. She knew she should have made up some lie. Hell, they hadn't even talked about what their relationship was, maybe Cordelia saying she loved her wasn't even in a romantic way, although it had seemed that way the previous night.

Cordelia excused herself to finally do some work, first trying to work in her study, then moving herself into her bedroom and working on her laptop once the thought of Elliott wouldn't leave her brain. Sure, it wasn't the most comfortable way to work, or the most efficient, but at least with the girl sleeping beside her it gave her some of her focus back, at least for a little while.

Eventually, Cordelia finished all of the room placements and finalized the schedule for move in. With Misty moving in with Elliott, the room placements were a breeze, although Cordelia still wasn't sure she was exactly comfortable with the situation. A part of her thought she should just end the relationship all together, that it would be easier for all of them if they just kept things friendly. But she also knew from Misty's admission that things were far more serious than Cordelia had thought, or wanted them to be. They would never be just friends, no matter how hard she tried those feelings would always be there, she couldn't keep running away from them, and that scared her. Elliott was already attached to Misty, probably as much as she was to Cordelia. Originally Cordelia had chalked it up to them being friendly, like Elliott was with all of the girls, but now it didn't seem that way, and Cordelia cursed herself for letting it get that far. If things ended between Cordelia and Misty, Elliott would be crushed, and it would all be Cordelia's fault. Everything that hurt Elliott was Cordelia's fault, and she was painfully aware of that.

Cordelia had never thought motherhood would be like this, this hurtful, like nothing she did would ever be enough. Everyone, besides her mother, always talked about how it was the greatest thing that ever happened to them, a blessing, but Cordelia had never felt more cursed. Sure, she loved Elliott more than anything, but it wasn't a beautiful love like everyone had described. It was the kind of love that left her with an ache in her bones every time she looked at her child, a deep pain that could only be relieved by Elliott's smile, and she wondered if she would ever see that smile again. Cordelia walked around in a constant state of dread, an all-consuming panic, because she knew that no matter what she did, it wouldn't be right, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't keep Elliott safe from all the pain of the world. Hell, most of the time she led the young girl straight to that pain. Cordelia had tried so desperately to not be Fiona, to not be the cause of her daughter's suffering, but as hard as she tried, there she was. She ran so far in the opposite direction she had made a full circle, and it killed her.

I know I pushed for adoption in the beginning, but I think you should keep her.

Those words had started her spiral, a string of bad decisions she had regretted every single day for the past 16 years.

Regardless of that snake you call a boyfriend, you're right, she would be better off with you. I did it and you turned out just fine.

That was it, the final nail in the coffin. Cordelia had been adamant about keeping her child until those words were spoken, until they opened up a deep fear in her she never knew she had. Cordelia always swore she would be nothing like her mother, but there she was, in the exact same predicament. She was young, and tied to a man she wasn't even sure she was in love with. Fiona had kept her, and Cordelia had wished every single day that she hadn't. She knew her mother loved her, in some strange way, but she also knew Fiona resented her, and Cordelia never wanted her child to feel that way. She wanted Elliott to know she was loved and wanted, so she made a choice that day to release her, despite her mother's protests. Thinking back on it now, she played right into her mother's hand, it was blatant reverse psychology, and Cordelia fell for it, hard.

"What's wrong?" mumbled Elliott, drawing Cordelia out of her downward spiral as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Cordelia didn't respond, just stared at her, so Elliott raised her eyebrows. "You in there?" she joked, snapping Cordelia out of her trance.

"Uh, nothing, just behind on work. How are you feeling?" Cordelia asked, trying to turn the conversation away from her.

Elliott threw her a look as she pulled herself up into a sitting position, not buying the excuse for a second. "I'm fine. What's wrong?"

"Nothing you need to worry about." Cordelia said as she rolled her eyes.

"Hey, if I don't get to do that neither do you. I know something's wrong." Elliott responded.

"I'm the parent, I do get to do that." Cordelia said, raising her eyebrows playfully.

"Really? You want to play that game?" Elliott asked jokingly.

Cordelia rolled her eyes once more, then decided to give Elliott something, if nothing else than to shut her up. "I'm just trying to get the room assignments done. We have enough beds for everyone, but for it to work you would have to take a roommate."

Elliott paused for a moment, realizing the dilemma. She wouldn't be an easy person to live with, especially when she woke up screaming half the time. "I can take a roommate." She said as she nodded slowly, not really believing she could. "As long as she's deaf, or we can just get her a REALLY nice set of earplugs." She joked, making Cordelia laugh.

"Misty said she would room with you, but I don't think that's a great idea." Cordelia said honestly, trying to gauge the girl's reaction.

"Why not? It makes sense, she won't get freaked out by you coming in in the middle of the night, and she's up with me half the time anyways. Plus, that frees up a whole room." Elliott said.

Cordelia tried to come up with a good excuse, "Well there's a big age gap there, and I know how much you like having your own room. I can figure something else out, make two of the rooms a triple or something."

Elliott shook her head. "No, it's fine. I can live with her, I don't mind as long as she doesn't." Cordelia looked at her doubtfully, so she continued, "You do realize I've had roommates before, right? This isn't something new, I'll be ok." The concern didn't lift from Cordelia's face as she bit her lip, and Elliott was starting to think she really wasn't worried about Elliott's privacy. "What? There's obviously a reason why you are so against this, so what is it?"

"I just, I'm worried about you. You're very attached to her, and I don't want to get your hopes up if this doesn't work out." Cordelia said, trying to keep things as vague as possible.

"If what doesn't work out?" Elliott asked, confused for a moment before she realized what the supreme was implying. "Oh. You and her? That's what you're so freaked out about?" she asked, giving the supreme a sarcastic look.

"Don't look at me like I'm crazy, I'm not crazy." Cordelia said incredulously.

"You aren't crazy, but I'm also not a little kid, I can handle myself. It's not like she's going anywhere." Elliott said casually, noticing how the supreme's eyes widened in panic at the end. She sighed and shifted her body so she was sitting facing the older woman with her legs crossed. "Ok, what happened?"

"Nothing happened, I'm just worried. I don't want you getting hurt when things don't work out." Cordelia said.

"No, you have your panic face on, something happened." Elliott said, pausing once she registered Cordelia's phrasing. "Wait. What do you mean "When things don't work out"? You already planning on dumping her?" She asked, the supreme not responding. "Cordelia, do not do something stupid because you are panicked about me. I will be fine."

"I'm not doing it because of you, I'm doing it because it's not the right time. I have too much going on and so does she. It's just not going to work." Cordelia said.

"Ok, but out of all those reasons, not one was you not liking her, which means you still do. You really think stopping whatever you two have going on is going to change that? You aren't cutting it off because you are too busy, you're cutting it off because you're panicked." Elliott said, causing Cordelia to throw her a look.

"I am not panicked." Cordelia said firmly.

"Yes you are, and you can say it's because of me but it's not, it's because of you." Elliott said just as firmly.

"I am not having this conversation with a 15-year-old." Cordelia said.

"Well since you are using me as the excuse, yea you are having this conversation with me. You don't want to tell me why you are so freaked out then fine, you don't have to. But this is a good thing, you deserve to be HAPPY, and she makes you happy. I'm not going to get hurt if you try it and it doesn't work out, but I am going to be hurt if you cut it off without giving it a fair shot, because then I'm going to have to be the one in the middle of it while you are both hurt." Elliott said, standing from the bed and walking out of the room. Sometimes dealing with the supreme was frustrating, more than frustrating. Cordelia had a bad habit of projecting her own issues onto something else, and she was so stubborn that she couldn't even recognize that she was doing it. Elliott wouldn't have an issue with it if it wasn't so self-destructive, but it was becoming increasingly clear that Cordelia didn't think she deserved to be happy in any capacity, which was concerning to say the least.

Elliott wandered down to the kitchen to find Misty still reading at the table, walking over to her and quietly sliding a ring over to her, "You lost this, I woke up with it stuck to my face." Misty looked up at her with wide eyes, "Relax, it's fine, I knew you were going to stay last night. Don't say anything to Cordelia though, she's already freaked out about it, me knowing would absolutely send her over the edge."

Misty's face relaxed, but only slightly, her eyebrows knitting together as Elliott sat down next to her. "Why is she freaked out?" She asked.

"Because she's in love and panicking about it. What the hell happened last night?" Elliott asked.

"Nothing, nothing happened." Misty said, shaking her head.

"Well something did. She's freaking out about me and how upset I will get if you two break things off, which didn't just come out of the blue. She's deflecting, so what happened? You tell her you love her?" Elliott asked jokingly, watching as Misty's face turned bright red. "Oh my god, you did!"

"It slipped out, I didn't mean ta freak her out." Misty offered.

"It's fine, I think just with everything that happened last night it was a lot to process all at once. She's not freaked out about you being in love with her, at least I don't think so, it's her being in love with you that's the issue." Elliott explained.

"Elle, ya gotta stop messin'." Misty said.

"I know and I am…. will. Once she gets past the whole "I don't deserve happiness" thing. After that it's all on you." Elliott joked.

"What?" Misty asked, Elliott shrugging her off.

"Don't worry about it. I'm working on it." She responded.

"How are ya feelin'?" Misty asked, changing the subject and causing Elliott to throw her a look.

"I'm feeling fine, for now. We'll see how tonight goes." Elliott said honestly.

"Elle, ya gotta sleep, ya can't keep doin' this ta ya self. It's not healthy." Misty said, her tone slightly scolding.

"Yea I know, that was a dumb idea. It seemed like a good one at the time though." Elliott joked, getting her a glare from the swamp witch. "Hey, at least I'm aware that I'm being self-destructive, that's something. Better to hurt myself than someone else."

Misty was about to respond, her mouth open and the words on the tip of her tongue when Cordelia walked into the room, causing her to close it as Elliott shifted her gaze from Misty to the older witch. "What?" Cordelia asked, thinking she interrupted something.

"Nothing, Misty was just reiterating how dumb my no sleep idea was, which I already know, by the way, so you don't have to tell me too." Elliott said sarcastically, both Misty and Cordelia throwing her the same look.

"I'm going to remind you every single day." Cordelia said seriously, making Elliott chuckle.

"So what's on the agenda for today?" Elliott asked.

"For you? RESTING." Cordelia said, making Elliott groan.

"I rested plenty, I slept like, all day. I'm tired of resting." Elliott said.

"I gotta go ta the swamp, get more mud. I just gotta find someone ta take me." Misty said, making Elliott whip around.

"Ooo, can I go with you?" She asked, excited.

"No." Cordelia said sternly.

"Please?" Elliott begged, giving Cordelia her best puppy dog face, causing the supreme to laugh.

"You are supposed to be resting, missy. Not chasing alligators." Cordelia said, already knowing she was going to lose the fight, but trying anyways.

"I won't CHASE them, I'm not five. Come on, she needs someone to take her and you have a car. Please? It will be fun!" Elliott said, standing from the table and moving towards the supreme, her puppy dog expression still on her face.

"Elliott, I'm not taking you to the hospital again because you got bit by an alligator." Cordelia said, trying to hold firm on her decision. It was difficult, especially when Elliott had a very convincing expression, her eyes wide and pleading with the corners of her mouth turned up, bringing the promise of a smile if the older woman caved.

"So I won't get bit, problem solved." Elliott said, still inching closer and closer to the woman until she was right in front of her, staring up at her with her eyebrows raised. "Please?"

Cordelia stared at the girl as she bit her lip, debating on whether or not she should just give up. Elliott's energy was bouncing off the walls, reflecting back at the supreme like a ray of sunshine. She didn't need to feel the girl to know how excited she was, Elliott was wiggling back and forth right in front of her, like a dog wagging its tail. It was adorable, and as much as Cordelia wanted to be responsible and tell Elliott no, she couldn't. "Fine, now put that face away." She said jokingly, rolling her eyes as she smiled at the girl.

"Really?" Elliott asked, her eyes wide as she waited for the supreme to confirm.

"Yes, really. Now go get dressed, unless you want to go in your pajamas." Cordelia said, her heart soaring when Elliott smiled widely at her. There it is. It was like a rainstorm after a drought, one of those moments in the movies where it seemed to last forever. For a second the world stopped spinning, and Cordelia decided that sometimes the right decisions aren't always the best decisions, and this was one of them. Cordelia would move mountains, start wars, if it meant she got to see that smile again, even for a second.

Elliott moved to hug the supreme, Cordelia holding her tightly and dropping a kiss on her head as she felt the girl bounce up and down with excitement, which just made her laugh. Elliott quickly went upstairs to change, leaving the two older women alone downstairs, Misty staring at Cordelia like she hung the moon. "What?" The older witch asked.

"Nothin', just good ta see her happy. Haven't seen that smile in a while." Misty said, knowing it was all Cordelia's doing.

"That smile is dangerous. First I let her have a dog and now I'm letting her play with alligators, I've officially lost it." Cordelia joked.

"She does have a good smile doesn't she?" Misty said, smiling wildly at the supreme.

"She sure does." Cordelia said, leaning on the counter as she shook her head.

"What?" Misty asked.

"Nothing, I just can't believe she convinced me to go. I almost died the first time." Cordelia said laughing.

"Dee, ya did not almost DIE. Ya were perfectly safe with me, although ya did scream ya brains out." Misty said.

"There was an alligator two feet in front of us!" Cordelia said emphatically.

"Stevie was not gonna hurt ya, we have a understandin'." Misty replied.

"Well I'm sorry if your mental contract with an ALLIGATOR didn't ease my fears." Cordelia said sarcastically as Elliott walked back into the room, dressed in leggings and a t-shirt that was far too big on her. "Is that my shirt?" Cordelia asked.

"Ya own a t-shirt?" Misty asked teasingly as she walked past Cordelia, who swatted at her. "Stop it!"

"Yes I own a t-shirt, I have several." Cordelia said, pretending to be offended.

"You have two and I have both of them." Elliott responded, making Misty laugh.

"Hey, you are supposed to be on my side." Cordelia said, walking over to the girl and tickling her ribs, making Elliott squirm and jump away.

"I'm not on anyone's side, but if you are going to lie at least make it a good one." Elliott teased as Cordelia grabbed her keys. "Are you really going to wear heels to a swamp?"

Cordelia looked down at her feet, she had honestly not even thought about it. Her last shoes that she wore to the swamp got ruined, and with the conversation that just took place Cordelia didn't want to admit that she didn't think she owned a pair of sneakers. "I could probably find something else to wear…"

"So we're making a pit stop at target on the way." Elliott joked, knowing exactly what Cordelia owned, Misty staring at her confused as Cordelia bit her lip. "You can't wear sandals, or heels, they'll get ruined. You can get a pair of throwaway shoes at target for like $5."

"What's Target?" Misty asked.

"You've never been to target before?" Elliott asked, stunned as Misty shook her head. "Boy are you in for a ride."

The three managed to all get into the car and make a quick stop at Target, although it was no small feat with Misty wanting to look at everything. The ride down to the swamp was talkative, Elliott explaining target to Misty like she was an expert, which made Cordelia chuckle.

"Wait, so they got food and clothes AND pillows? Why would ya ever leave there?" Misty asked, amazed by the little store as they stepped out of the car.

"You don't. You go in for one thing and you walk out three hours later with thirty other things and not the one thing you needed. Then the cycle continues." Elliott explained.

"Elle, you do not." Cordelia argued, although truth be told she didn't know the last time she had even stepped foot in a target.

"Yes you do, and I'm an expert. I spent most of my childhood in Targets." Elliott said with conviction.

"What?" Misty asked, confused.

"That was the thing to do when we weren't allowed in the house, we would go to target and play hide and seek, and try and sneak around the employees so they wouldn't kick us out." Elliott explained, making Cordelia laugh a little bit.

"Alright now listen closely." Cordelia began, "There are bugs and snakes and god knows what else out here, so watch where you are stepping. I don't need you getting bit by something. Stay close please, don't run off and give me a heart attack. And for the love of god, stay away from the alligators."

"So, no fun?" Elliott said sarcastically, causing Cordelia to glare at her.

"You can have fun, just safe fun." She responded.

"So…no fun. Got it." Elliott replied, stepping over a tree root.

The three of them finally made their way to their destination, Cordelia once again camping out behind Misty as she worked, whereas Elliott chose to wander. While Cordelia didn't appear as freaked out as last time, she really was, she was just trying to put up a good front for Elliott, which obviously wasn't working out so well when Elliott turned to look back at her. "Are you doing ok?" She asked.

"I'm fine." Cordelia responded, quickly looking to the ground and scanning it for anything, which made Elliott chuckle.

"Yea, ok." She said sarcastically, moving behind a tree. "Oh cool, a snake!"

"Elliott, do not go anywhere near that snake." Cordelia said sternly, quickly looking back to the ground when she heard the ruffling of grass.

"Relax, it's just a garden snake, they're harmless. Look." Elliott said as she came back into view, the snake wrapping up her arm, making Cordelia scream.

"OH MY GOD." Cordelia shrieked, making Elliott and Misty laugh at her. "Elliott, put it down, now."

"Dee it's fine, they aren't even poisonous." Misty said, smirking at Elliott.

"Yea, look!" Elliott said as she grabbed the snake and walked toward the women, "Isn't he cute?"

Cordelia gave Elliott a hard stare, but that quickly dissolved when the snake wrapped itself around Elliott's neck, making the young girl smile. She really did have a dangerous smile. "Elliott, please, for my own sanity, do not pick anything else up, or try to play with anything."

"She hasn't even met Stevie yet." Misty said, throwing Cordelia a devious smile as the supreme gazed down at her with wide eyes.

"Yea, where is Stevie?" Elliott asked, setting the snake down as she continued to wander, moving behind the old house that used to be Misty's home.

"Elliott, please be careful!" Cordelia yelled after her, then turned her focus to Misty. "You are not helping me."

"She's havin' fun Dee. She already knows what's dangerous out here and what isn't, I showed her months ago. She'll be fine." Misty answered.

"You showed her?" Cordelia asked.

"Yea, when we were workin' out in the greenhouse. Ya got all the books out there on the different animals, so she was askin' me about it. She reads everythin' ya know." Misty said, smiling up at her.

"That she does." Cordelia said, laughing to herself when the two of them heard a distinctive thud, or more of a splash. "Elliott?" Cordelia yelled, turning her body around.

"Yea?" Elliott yelled back.

"Are you ok?" Cordelia asked, getting no response at first, causing both her and Misty to start to move towards the back of the house. "Elle?"

"Yea, I'm ok. I think I found Stevie… or at least I'm hoping this is Stevie." Elliott said, her voice dropping at the last bit, which only caused Cordelia to panic and run to the back of the house.

When she rounded the corner she immediately saw that Elliott was sitting on the ground, totally covered in mud. She visibly relaxed until she saw the mud move on top of Elliott's legs, a full alligator head coming into view, which made her shriek, causing Misty and Elliott to both shush her. "Dee, it's Stevie, she's fine, but ya hollerin' isn't helping." Misty said quietly, which didn't calm the woman down one bit.

"Get her off of her." Cordelia said, her voice so high pitched, it was practically nails on a chalkboard.

"Mama, relax. I'm ok." Elliott said, not realizing the words that came out of her mouth in her own panic, but Cordelia and Misty did, Cordelia's eyes tearing up as she turned away, terrified.

"I told you not to play with them." Cordelia said, turning back at the girl.

"I didn't! I was walking back here and I slipped, and she walked up to me and put her head on me. You think if I knew there was an alligator back here I would have done this?" Elliott said emphatically.

"Yes." Cordelia and Misty said at the same time, making Elliott's eyes roll.

"Well I didn't. I do listen to rules sometimes, I don't live just to give you an aneurism." Elliott said as Misty moved closer, Cordelia looking at Elliott with wide eyes.

"She likes ya." Misty said, squatting down by the girl, rubbing the alligator's snout as it closed its eyes.

"I figured, otherwise she probably would have eaten me by now." Elliott said, chuckling.

"Not funny." Cordelia said, although Elliott noticed she was starting to relax a bit.

"It was too funny. I'm the one sitting under an alligator here, I get to make jokes." Elliott said, causing Cordelia to roll her eyes.

"She wants ya ta pet her, that's why she's layin' on ya." Misty said, causing Elliott to look at her apprehensively. "It's ok, she won't bite ya."

Elliott reached her hand out and slowly pet the alligator, smiling when she felt Stevie relax on top of her. She smiled at Cordelia, who couldn't help but offer a small, but still panicked, smile back. Elliott and Misty continued to pet the gator for a few more moments before Elliott finally said to the gator, "Can you move now? You're sorta crushing my legs."

Misty and Cordelia both let out a snort, then stared shocked as the gator actually moved, crawling back into the water. Misty quickly recovered and helped pull Elliott up, the two walking back to the supreme, who grabbed Elliott's hand as she took the lead, leading everyone out of the swamp. Misty was shocked the supreme didn't ask her to go first, but then again it was crystal clear the older woman was in momma bear mode, snaking her way through the trees until they got about halfway back, turning to the swamp witch. "I don't know where to go." She said, obviously defeated as she bit her bottom lip, making Elliott and Misty laugh at her. Misty nodded and took the lead, getting them back to the car. Elliott stepped away from the supreme and went to climb in the back when the older woman finally looked her up and down, she was absolutely coated in mud. "You think you are getting in my car like that?" She asked jokingly, causing Elliott to throw her a half glare.

"What are you going to do? Leave me here?" She said sarcastically, making the supreme laugh.

"Well say goodbye to it because you are never coming back here." Cordelia said seriously.

"Hey! Not fair." Elliott said as Cordelia threw her a look and walked toward her.

"You are going to be the death of me." Cordelia said sarcastically as she laughed, dropping a kiss on Elliott's head, the one clean spot she had.

The three of them drove home and Elliott quickly hopped in the shower, leaving the two older witches outside on the porch swing as Max ran around in the front yard. "Ya really gonna keep Elle from goin' ta the swamp again?" Misty asked, Cordelia throwing her a look.

"Mist, she had an ALLIGATOR on her lap." Cordelia said seriously.

"She had Stevie on her lap, and she wasn't gonna hurt her, she loved her." Misty said adamantly.

"I don't care what Stevie's intentions where, she's still an alligator, Mist. A deadly reptile, and she's not the only one that's out there. What if next time Elliott thinks it's her and it's not? She'd lose an arm." Cordelia said, trying to reason with the swamp witch.

"Dee, she's a smart kid, she knows better. Ya gotta give her some credit here, and ya know she had a blast." Misty responded.

"Yea, she did but I had a heart attack. I'm worried about her enough as is, and you want to add a bunch of deadly animals into the mix?" Cordelia joked.

"Ya can't have a heart attack, ya are the supreme." Misty teased.

"A metaphorical heart attack babe, one I've been having every day since she got here." Cordelia laughed.

"Hey, it's not like she's doin' it on purpose, she's doin' her best." Misty said, Cordelia rolling her eyes in response.

"I know she is. It's not her fault, I just didn't think it would be like this." Cordelia responded honestly.

"Like what?" Misty asked.

"This… I don't know… This hard? Everyone always talks about how amazing it is, but I just feel like no matter what I do it's wrong. I love Elliott, more than anything, don't get me wrong. I wouldn't trade her for the world. I just didn't think it would be this painful." Cordelia explained.

"Dee, ya gotta cut ya self some slack. Elle isn't a normal kid, she's dealin' with some pretty heavy stuff right now, it's gonna be hard. Especially when ya love someone as much as ya love Elle, it hurts ta see her in pain, but all ya can do is try ta help her. It'll get better with time, soon ya will be arguin' with her about stealin' ya clothes like normal kids do." Misty said, grabbing the older witches hand. "I know ya still feel guilty about everythin' that happened, but that's all stuff ya couldn't control, ya did what ya thought was best. But what is in ya control is how she is now, and ya have to admit she's a whole lot happier here."

"Is she?" Cordelia asked, "Because the last time, before today, that I could remember her genuinely being happy was when we got Max, and that was MONTHS ago. The last time she smiled was months ago, Mist."

"No it wasn't." Misty said, causing Cordelia to look at her questioningly, "It was when ya told her she got ta come home. That's the last time she smiled." Cordelia didn't respond, just stared at her hands, completely forgetting the moment happened, everything was just so crazy then. "Dee, I know right now it doesn't seem like it, but she is happy, and that's all ya. Ya let her read books and watch Harry Potter and mess around in the greenhouse and steal ya clothes and tease ya mercilessly about the way ya eat pizza. Ya don't yell at her for anythin', even when ya probably should. Ya stay up all night with her when she has her nightmares and she knows ya would do anythin' ta make her feel better. She's crazy about ya, and that's not gonna change."

"But what if it does? She thinks she wants this right now, but once everything settles she might not. Eventually the novelty of me is going to wear off and she might just find me annoying or overbearing. She already thinks I'm crazy now, and she's only been here for a little while." Cordelia said, her deepest fears finally surfacing. "I don't want to be my mother; I don't want her to hate me or not want to deal with me."

"Ya are nothin' like Fiona, I can tell ya that. Ya care too much ta be anythin' like her." Misty said truthfully, "I wouldn't love ya if ya were Fiona." Cordelia got quiet, she really didn't know what to say anymore. "Hey, if ya are so worried about all this, why don't ya talk to Elle about it? I'm sure she would tell ya exactly what I'm sayin'."

"I know she would, she would tell me I'm being insane." Cordelia said.

"Ever think that's cause ya are?" Misty teased, making Cordelia roll her eyes playfully, "I know ya are scared darlin', and that's normal. But ya gotta go easy on ya self, ya are doin' the best ya can, and we both know if Elle was thinkin' this way ya would stop her in a second."

Cordelia nodded begrudgingly, she knew Misty was right. How is she so perfect? A few hours ago Cordelia was convinced she was going to have to break up with her, and now the supreme didn't think she could ever let the swamp witch go. Cordelia leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to her lips before she pulled back and whispered "God I love you."

"I love ya too." Misty said, pressing one more quick kiss to the older woman's lips before they heard the sound of glass shattering from inside the house, causing both of them to jump up and head inside to see what happened.

Elliott didn't mean to drop the glass, she really didn't. After her shower she came downstairs and was about to head outside when she saw through the window that Cordelia and Misty were having a serious conversation. Part of her wanted to go out and stop it, assuming it was Cordelia trying to break things off, but Elliott had told Misty she would stop meddling, and she really was trying to do that. She headed to the kitchen and decided to get a drink, but the glasses were on the top shelf in the cabinet, meaning she had to go up on her tippy toes. It was fine until she went to come back down and stumbled, the glass slipping from her grasp and crashing to the floor, making the blood rush to her ears.

Do not have a panic attack, it's fine. You had a good day, don't ruin it over this.

Elliott tried to control herself as her thoughts briefly went wild, staring at the broken glass. It flashed across her mind that Cordelia was going to be mad at her, that she was going to hurt her, but she quickly tried to talk herself out of that, knowing if she gave into the thoughts that she was screwed.

Cordelia has never hurt you, you are safe. Stop overreacting.

You have to keep yourself calm, do it for her. You have to get better.

If you freak out again she's going to send you back.

No she isn't. She loves you. You are being insane. Just breathe.

You know she was out there telling Misty you are too much trouble.

She doesn't want you. No one wants you.

Would you reign it in? It's a broken glass, not a nuclear bomb.

Elliott didn't move from where she was standing, trying to take deep breathes as her eyes started to get watery. She heard the front door open behind her but she couldn't bring herself to face the women, not until she had gotten herself under control. "Elle? Are you ok?" She heard Cordelia say.

You have to be ok.

She rapidly tried to blink the tears away, instinctually turning around when she felt a hand on her shoulder, coming face to face with Cordelia, her face concerned. "I- I'm sorry. It slipped." Elliott offered her, her eyes still glassy as she looked at the woman, the panic evident on her face.

"Elle, sweetie, it's ok, I'm not worried about it." Cordelia said as she pulled Elliott into a hug, trying to comfort the girl and quell her fears. She didn't care about the glass, they had practically a hundred. "Are you ok?" She asked as she pulled back, grabbing the girls face gently and studying it for any sign of a panic attack. Elliott nodded but the supreme was still doubtful, "Are you sure?" Elliott nodded again, a little more sure of herself as the rushing in her ears quieted, the supreme smiling at her softly, making her smile back a bit.

Cordelia pulled Elliott in for another hug before the girl went in search of a broom and dustpan to clean everything up, despite Misty and Cordelia saying they would take care of it. Elliott thought it was her mess, she should be the one to clean it up, so the two witches made their way back outside and resumed their position on the porch swing. Cordelia couldn't keep the smile off her face, she was proud of Elliott. She thought for sure she was going to walk in and see Elliott in the fetal position again, but aside from her being panicked that Cordelia would be mad at her, she was ok. It was small, but it was progress. "What are ya all smiley about?" Misty asked playfully, poking at the supreme's sides.

"Nothing! It's just the last time something broke like that was when Elliott first got here, and she had a total panic attack, but this time she didn't. It's not a big deal, but it's something." Cordelia explained, Misty smiling back at her.

"It's more than somethin' darlin'. That's great!" Misty responded enthusiastically. The two chatted amongst themselves for a few minutes until Elliott had finished cleaning and came out to join them, sitting down in front of them with her back pressed against the porch railing. "How ya feelin' darlin'?" Misty asked.

Elliott rolled her eyes dramatically. "I'm fine. How are you two?" She asked, Cordelia narrowing her eyes at the girl, understanding the undertones that laced the loaded question.

"We're great. You hungry yet? I figured we would go out for food." She asked, trying to gauge where Elliott was at as far as eating went. She didn't want to make the young witch freak out, but she hoped Elliott would be open to it as long as it was her choice.

Once again, the idea of food made Elliott's stomach roll, but she knew it was just her getting in her own head. She couldn't keep doing this, she had to try and get better, so she agreed. "I could eat, anywhere you have in mind?"

Cordelia smiled widely, then quickly tried to cover it up, knowing it would just make Elliott uncomfortable. "There's some sort of street fair happening on the other side of town, want to do that?" She asked.

"Yea that's fine." Elliott responded as Misty nodded her head in agreement. The two older women went inside to change as Elliott played with Max, tossing the ball until the dog refused to go get it. "Really? You're done? Come on dude." Elliott teased as the women joined her once again on the porch, laughing at the scene. "You two ready?"

The three of them arrived at the street fair and Cordelia was immediately pulling them into every booth she saw, looking over the jewelry and art. You could tell she loved this kind of thing, and it made Elliott wonder why she hadn't been asked to go before, there were about a hundred different street fairs that happened in New Orleans every summer. Elliott had probably been to all of them at one point or another, when she was younger her foster siblings used to take her and once she got older she would go just to have an excuse to stay out of the house. Cordelia kept trying to buy her things but she managed to avoid every purchase of a random sun hat or dress, and soon Cordelia was moving too fast for her to keep up, so she lagged a few booths behind. She stopped in a small tent filled with jewelry and stopped to look. Elliott had never worn much jewelry, it was always just something extra that she didn't need and something that would get lost in the shuffle, but she found a small silver bracelet with a small opal that hung off of it, and she picked it up and looked at it for a second. "Oh, there ya are. Dee thought she mighta scared ya off." Misty said as she walked up behind the girl.

Elliott laughed as she looked at the woman and set the bracelet back down, "No, I just can't keep up."

Misty moved closer to the girl and looked at the bracelet she had just put down. "That's a pretty one."

"Mmhm." Elliott said offhandedly, trying to make it appear that she was just looking around. "Where is she? We probably should get to her before she thinks I took you hostage." She joked, causing Misty to snicker.

The two made their way through the crowds until they spotted Cordelia in an art booth, staring at an ugly painting. They made their way to her and she smiled at them, then turned back to the painting and studied it again. "What do you think of this?"

"For what?" Elliott asked. She didn't want to say the painting was awful, not when the seller was standing so close by.

"For the coven, we have an empty space. It was supposed to be where Fiona's painting went but it got broken in the greenhouse. I probably could fix it, but putting up another painting just seems easier." Cordelia joked, Elliott's face turning red behind her. So that's what she broke all those months ago, oops.

"Dee, that house doesn't need one more damn painting. Ya can barely see the walls as is." Misty joked, causing Cordelia to throw her a playful glare.

"Fine, let's get food then." Cordelia said sarcastically, walking away from the dreadful painting.

The three had made it all of fifteen steps from the booth when they heard a young voice scream "Elliott!" The teenage girl looked around for the source of the voice when Cora slammed into her legs, wrapping her arms around the older girl, Emma running up behind her.

"Uh, Elle, we're gonna go look at somethin'. We'll be right back ok?" Misty said as she pulled Cordelia away, wanting to give the girl a few moments. Elliott nodded before squatting down to properly hug Cora, then Emma.

"How are you guys?" She asked, smiling at them.

"We're ok, we got back with our mama." Emma said, motioning to a woman standing about 10 yards behind her, Elliott smiling softly at the woman, who smiled back.

"Well that's good. Do you like it there? Are you safe?" Elliott asked, hoping the girls would tell her the truth.

"Yea, mama got a new job and she takes us sometimes. They let us draw and blow up the gloves like balloons." Emma said, Cora giggling softly at the mention of their makeshift balloons.

"That's great! You still have my number right?" Elliott asked, Emma nodding at her. "Ok, when you get home, as long as it's ok with your mom, call it so I have your number, ok? You guys know you can call me whenever, we're still family." Emma nodded at her as the girls mother finally approached them, ruffling Cora's hair. "Hi, I'm Elliott." Elliott said as she shook the woman's hand, "I was the girls foster sister."

"Oh I know all about you, the girls couldn't stop talking about you." The woman said, making Elliott smile, "I'm Angela."

"Well it's good to see they are doing so well, they told me a lot about you too. They really missed you." Elliott said, Angela smiling back at her.

"Well they said you really looked out for them, thank you for that. They really love you." Angela said, her eyes getting a little sad.

"It was no problem, they're good kids." Elliott said, "Um, would it be ok with you if I stayed in contact with them? Emma has my number, I just really would like to check in on them every once in a while, if that's ok?"

Angela smiled at her as Cordelia and Misty walked back up behind Elliott, Cordelia placing her hand on Elliott's back. "That's more than ok, I was actually going to have them call you tomorrow, Cora wanted you to come to her birthday party. It's next weekend." Angela said laughing.

Elliott smiled then looked toward Cordelia to ask permission, the older woman nodding back at her. "Yea I'll be there!" Elliott said, causing Cora to jump up and down.

Angela then turned her gaze toward Cordelia, offering the supreme her hand. "I'm Angela, I'm the girls mom."

"Cordelia." The supreme answered, smiling at the woman and the girls as Misty also introduced herself.

"You two are more than welcome to come too. I know kids birthday parties are a headache but I would love to meet Elliott's family. You've got a good kid." Angela said, making the two other women beam at Elliott, who was distracted talking with the younger girls.

"We sure do." Cordelia said softly.

Elliott exchanged numbers with the woman and they finally went their separate ways, the three witches heading towards the food trucks once again. Misty and Elliott got corndogs whereas Cordelia went for a sandwich, and they all sat down to eat. "So those girls were?" Misty asked.

"Emma and Cora, they were my foster sisters at the last place." Elliott answered as she bit into her corndog, effectively smearing ketchup and mustard on her face.

"Which one was which?" Cordelia asked, laughing at Elliott's dirty face as she handed her a napkin.

"Emma is the older one, she's nine, and Cora is five." Elliott answered, taking the napkin as she threw a playful glare at the older woman.

"Their mama seems nice." Misty said, Elliott nodding back at her.

"Yea she does, I'm happy that they got to go back with her." Elliott said.

"Why did they get taken away?" Cordelia asked, curious.

"I don't know exactly, they never really told me and I didn't ask." Elliott said honestly.

"Well she seems to like ya. I'm surprised ya agreed ta go ta the party, kids parties are crazy. Ya must really like those girls." Misty said chuckling, Elliott looking at her confused.

"They are?" She asked.

"Yea, don't ya remember them from when ya were a kid? Everyone runnin' around screamin' and cryin'?" Misty asked.

"I've never been to one before." Elliott said as she shrugged and bit another piece of her corndog.

"Ya haven't ever been ta a kids party before? Darlin' ya are in for a ride." Misty said.

"I've never been to a birthday party at all, at least not that I can remember." Elliott responded. Misty and Cordelia shared a sad look, but they quickly recovered when Elliott looked over at them.

"Speaking of birthdays, you need to start thinking about what you want to do for yours. It's coming up you know." Cordelia said, hoping to turn the conversation to something lighter.

Elliott looked at her confused, "What do you mean?"

"Well we could have a party or do whatever you want, you get to pick." Cordelia said, "Oh and you need to tell me what kind of cake you want so I can order it."

The confusion on Elliott's face didn't lift, something both women noticed, but she quickly tried to cover it up. "Oh that's ok, we don't have to do anything."

"Well we have ta do somethin', Elle. It's ya birthday, not only that but you'll be 16, it's a big year darlin'. What do ya normally do?" Misty asked.

"Nothing." Elliott answered.

"Ya have ta do somethin' Elle." Misty said, not taking the hint of where the conversation was heading, but Cordelia did and her face fell, which Elliott picked up on.

"I'll think about it and we can talk later." Elliott said, wanting to move the conversation somewhere else. It was obvious birthdays were supposed to be a big thing, but Elliott hadn't really done anything for her birthday while in foster care, none of the parents seemed to care. She didn't even realize birthdays weren't just ordinary days until she met David, and even then all they did was get each other a small gift, usually a candy bar or a small dollar store toy, and they sang each other happy birthday and let each other blow out a scented candle they managed to find somewhere in the house. That was really it.

The three of them finished their food and walked around a bit more before piling back into the car and heading back to the coven, the three of them carrying all of Cordelia's bags into the house and setting them on the counter. "Oh. I got you something." Cordelia said, reaching into one of the bags and pulling out a small box, handing it to Elliott. She had wanted to give it to the girl right after she got it, but knowing how Elliott was with her buying things, she would have marched the three of them back to the booth and made her return it, so she waited.

"You weren't supposed to get me anything." Elliott said as she threw a playful glare at the older woman, making Cordelia roll her eyes, "I don't need anything."

"Well you wouldn't let me buy you anything else so you'll just have to let me have this one." Cordelia said playfully as she smiled at the girl, Misty chuckling behind her. "Open it."

Elliott rolled her eyes but nodded, pulling the top off the box to reveal the bracelet she had been looking at earlier. She threw a glare at Misty, who just smiled mischievously at her. "I'm going to kill you."

"That's fine, I can bring myself back." Misty said, causing Elliott and Cordelia to laugh.

"You shouldn't have gotten this for me, it's too expensive." Elliott said to Cordelia, who just shook her head.

"It wasn't even that much, Elle. Plus, it's your birthstone." Cordelia said, "Just wait until I take you shopping for school, you'll really hate me then."

"What do I need for school?" Elliott asked as Cordelia made her way around the counter and started to clip the bracelet onto the girl's wrist.

"Well you need some new clothes, notebooks, stuff like that." Cordelia responded, fumbling with the clasp a little as Elliott laughed.

"I don't need new clothes, I'm fine." She said.

"Your clothes are all too big on you and if you wear leggings to class the other girls will tease you, they're all very into fashion here." Cordelia giggled as she finally got the clasp, Elliott rolling her eyes. "It looks good." She said, motioning to the bracelet as she pulled Elliott into a hug.

Elliott stared down at it for a moment, it did look good. As much as she hated Cordelia buying her things, the gift was sweet. Her eyes got a little teary as she hugged the woman back, saying softly, "It does, thank you."


	30. Chapter 30

"That has gluten you know." Elliott heard as she walked out of the kitchen, looking up to see Coco staring at her from the couch with Mallory. It was the weekend after move in, and Elliott thought all of the other girls were out. It wasn't that she was necessarily avoiding them…ok maybe she was, but it was just because she didn't like the idea of being cornered by them and forced to answer a million questions, which she already had to do twice.

"I know, that's why I'm eating it." Elliott joked, Mallory nudging Coco, a silent signal to knock it off. Elliott already had issues eating as is, they really didn't need her getting self-conscious because of a gluten detector.

"Oh thank god, finally someone who doesn't give a fuck. These girls have been asking me every time they go to eat a peanut." Coco said with a sigh, making Elliott chuckle as she made her way into the living room.

"And DOES a peanut have gluten?" Elliott asked sarcastically, sitting down in an armchair.

Mallory chuckled but Coco just rolled her eyes, "No, it doesn't."

"And that's why I don't eat them." Elliott joked, making Mallory and Coco both chuckle this time.

"You know for someone who's supposed to be the supreme's daughter, you are the exact opposite of Cordelia. How do you two not drive each other crazy?" Coco asked, Elliott chuckling.

"Oh I drive her insane." Elliott said emphatically as Cordelia walked down the stairs, overhearing the conversation.

"Well at least you know it." She said jokingly, causing Elliott to roll her eyes as Cordelia smiled at her, "You done hiding out now?"

"I wasn't hiding out." Elliott said indignantly as Cordelia threw her a knowing look, "I wasn't." Cordelia didn't say anything, just kept staring at her. "Well excuse me if I don't like to be interrogated every five seconds."

"They aren't "interrogating" you, they're curious. You're the only new student we have this year, of course they're going to ask about you." Cordelia said.

"Well I wish they wouldn't." Elliott deadpanned.

"Don't forget, we have the party at 3." Cordelia reminded her.

"Oh yea, why did I agree to go to a kid's party again?" Elliott said sarcastically.

"I have no idea." Cordelia laughed.

Elliott quickly went upstairs to get changed as Cordelia went to grab Misty from the greenhouse, then off they went. Elliott had made it all of two steps into the house before Emma ran up to her and dragged her off towards the bouncy house in the backyard. "I guess I'm going this way." Elliott said sarcastically as she was led away from the older women, who just laughed at her.

"Have fun!" Cordelia said smiling.

"Sorry, Emma has been bugging me all day asking when Elliott was going to get here, I don't think she likes Cora's friends too much." Angela laughed before handing the women glasses of wine, "You're going to need it, we've already had two meltdowns, surprisingly not my kids, but I'm sure they are coming." Cordelia and Misty laughed at that. "You really didn't have to bring a gift," Angela said, motioning to the one in Cordelia's hand, "It meant a lot to the girls that Elliott was even willing to come."

Cordelia laughed again, "Oh this was all Elliott, she insisted on getting it herself, wouldn't even let me come with her."

"Elliott seems very independent." Angela said with a smile.

"Too independent." Cordelia snorted.

"Uh oh," Angela said, looking out the back door window, "Meltdown. I might need to take this one."

The three watched for a moment as Cora climbed out of the bouncy house crying. For a moment she looked like she was about to run inside, but then quickly whipped her head around towards Elliott and ran to the older girl. Elliott kneeled down so she was eye level with the small girl and talked with her for a moment, Cora nodding and shaking her head from time to time, before the women inside watched Elliott wipe the tears from Cora's face and sent her back running towards the bounce house. Angela let out a snort, "Looks like crisis averted."

Cordelia and Misty made small talk with Angela and the other parents there, but they did feel very out of place. Elliott did her best to try and come inside to check on them and talk with them, but every time she sat down one of the girls was pulling her back outside only moments later, to the point it got comical. Finally, they all sang happy birthday and did cake and presents, which gave Elliott a bit of a break. Cora tore through all the presents, unwrapping various dolls and princess dresses, thanking the kids and parents for each one. She opened Elliott's last, pulling out a batman box, which caused all the other parents in the room to have puzzled looks on their faces. "What is it?" Cora asked, turning to face Elliott.

"Well you have to open it and look." Elliott joked.

Cora nodded then opened up the box, pulling out a long strip of black fabric, looking confused for a moment before she realized what it was. "You got me a cape!" She screamed, her face lighting up as she got up and ran to Elliott, who tied it around her neck, the girl still beaming.

"There, now you have a real one." Elliott said, smiling at her as the girl moved to hug her, then ran outside with the other kids.

"She wanted a batman cape?" Cordelia asked, stunned at the girl's choice.

"She loves batman, she would steal my batman t shirt and tie it around her neck and run around the room pretending she had superpowers." Elliott said laughing.

"But batman doesn't have any superpowers." Cordelia stated.

"Yea, but she doesn't know that, and he has a cool car." Elliott said with a shrug as Emma walked up to her and pulled on her arm, tugging her back outside.

After about another half hour all the kids and their parents slowly left, leaving just Misty, Cordelia, and Elliott. Cordelia excused herself to go to the bathroom, then when she came back out Misty was gone. "Where did she go?" Cordelia asked Angela.

"They're all in the bounce house." Angela said with a smirk.

"Why am I surprised?" Cordelia said laughing.

The two made small talk for a few minutes as Cordelia helped Angela clean up, then the conversation took an interesting turn. "I knew I recognized you from somewhere, you run Robichaux's, right?" Angela asked, Cordelia hesitantly nodding in return. "Relax, it's ok. My great grandmother was a witch, it died out after her though. It just makes a lot of sense."

"What do you mean?" Cordelia asked.

"The girls always say "Mama, Elliott's magic." I thought they were just being kids, especially considering everything that happened." Angela said, noticing Cordelia drop her gaze and look down, "How is Elliott doing? If you don't mind me asking, I just know she took the brunt of it, it can't be easy for her."

Cordelia nodded slightly, "She's hanging in there. Some days are better than others, but she doesn't like to talk about it and I don't want to push her." Angela nodded before Cordelia continued, "How are the girls doing? Are they talking about it?"

"They're doing ok, they're young so they don't really understand it yet, especially Cora. They are in therapy so they are talking about it with someone, but I just get bits and pieces. It's hard to navigate it, especially when I was the reason they got taken. I want to know everything but at the same time I don't." Angela said.

"I know the feeling." Cordelia responded, nodding her head, "I think that's mostly why Elliott won't talk about it, she doesn't want me to feel guilty."

"What happened with Elliott?" Angela asked, continuing when Cordelia looked at her, "You don't have to tell me if you aren't comfortable, you just don't seem to fit the type."

Cordelia chuckled a little bit, "Neither do you."

Angela let out a small snort before her face fell a bit, "No, I just get myself into some pretty bad situations." Cordelia knitted her eyebrows together, which caused Angela to offer an explanation, "The girls dad was never in the picture, so I was on my own. I got into a relationship with a great guy, until he wasn't so great, at least not towards me. We lived together, and it was fine until I lost my job. Then he got addicted to pills and it spiraled from there. He was getting scripts in my name and I didn't know it, and when I finally left I was homeless, which was when CPS got involved. Not having a job and having a bunch of scripts in your name isn't exactly a good look, so I lost them. I told the judge what happened but he didn't believe me, so I had to have a year of clean tests before I could get them back."

Cordelia sat silent for a moment before offering a small, "I'm so sorry." To which Angela shrugged. Because Angela had offered her own admission, Cordelia felt compelled to share her own, "I'm actually Elliott's birth mom." Angela raised her eyebrows in shock, "I know, it's unusual. I had her young and gave her up, but her adoptive parents died when she was two. I didn't know she went into foster care until a few months ago, I found her by accident, then I brought her to the academy. I was scared to tell her though, even after I asked to adopt her, and she ended up finding out on her own, which of course caused issues, so I stopped the adoption. I didn't think anything of it, and I took her out of state with me on a work trip without telling CPS, which I didn't know I wasn't allowed to do. We fixed things and I refiled, which was how CPS found out, and they had to take her until a judge signed off on it."

"Wow," Angela said, "That sucks." Cordelia nodded in agreement before Angela asked, "And Elliott didn't tell you anything was going on?"

Cordelia shook her head, "No. I guess the social worker told the girls if they had to go to another home they would be separated, and she really wanted to keep them together."

Angela dropped her head, "I'm really sorry."

Cordelia shook her head, "Don't be, I'm just glad they are all safe."

"I'm really thankful for Elliott, who knows what would have happened if she hadn't been there, especially with Cora." Angela said, looking out the window and shaking her head as she sipped her wine.

"What do you mean?" Cordelia asked, curious. It wasn't like Elliott told her anything, and she wanted to at least have an idea of what went on in that house.

Angela looked back at Cordelia and pursed her lips, you could tell the story was difficult for her. "I guess, from what the girls told me, one night Elliott ran to the store to get something, and Cora did something to set the guy off, so he went after her in front of Emma. Emma tried to stop him, but she's little, she couldn't really do much, and they guy wouldn't let up until she wasn't breathing. Emma called Elliott and she came rushing home, she said Elliott brought Cora back to life." Cordelia's eyes widened a bit at the revelation, which caused Angela to quickly dismiss the thought, "I mean, she's a kid. I know Elliott didn't actually do that, but she did help them, more than I think she knows. They really love her; they call her their big sister."

Cordelia tried her best to recover, offering, "She really loves them. When she was in the hospital she demanded I call the social worker immediately to find out where they were and if they were together. She threw a fit when I didn't do it fast enough, which is very out of character for her."

Angela laughed and the two conversed for a bit more before making their way outside to watch everyone in the bounce house. Cordelia let out a laugh as she saw Elliott doing tricks with Emma while Misty jumped with Cora on her shoulders, the latter witch waving wildly once she spotted the supreme. Eventually, Elliott climbed out, her face sweaty and bright red, walking over to Cordelia. "You done?" Cordelia asked smiling.

Elliott laughed in response. "Yea, but good luck getting her out of that thing." She said, gesturing to Misty, which caused Cordelia to chuckle.

"Yea, I don't think we are going home any time soon." She said.

Eventually they managed to coax Misty out of the bounce house, but only with the promise of food, and they all headed home. By the time they got home all the other girls had returned and dinner was loud and chaotic. Elliott seemed more open to talking with the other girls, which was an improvement, and she giggled at one end of the table with Coco, Mallory and a few other girls while Cordelia watched from the other end. The girls tried to all vie for Cordelia's attention throughout dinner, but they all could tell her head was somewhere else. She engaged in a few conversations, but the supreme ended up leaving dinner early and heading outside to the porch, needing just a few minutes of solitude.

Cordelia's conversation with Angela had been plaguing her all night, rattling around in her brain like a metal ball in a wooden box, each movement she made causing the noise to ring out, sharp yet hollow. Of course, hearing about what Elliott went through upset her, and that story was only a small tidbit. Cordelia knew the situation was bad, but she didn't realize just how bad it really was, or maybe she just didn't want to realize it. It was easier thinking the worst of it was when Elliott got put in the hospital, but now it seemed it expanded far beyond that, and that was a tough pill to swallow. But that wasn't the only thing that was eating away at her, in fact for once that was the quietest thing in her mind.

Cordelia kept thinking about what Angela had said, she brought Cora back to life. Sure, it could all just be a coincidence, after all it came from a nine-year-old, but Cordelia couldn't put it down. Could Elliott have resurgence? It wasn't a common gift, out of all of Cordelia's girls only Mallory, Misty, and Madison had it, and usually it was the hallmark of a supreme. Cordelia had always thought the next supreme would be Mallory, but if Elliott really did have resurgence, it tipped the odds more in her favor, especially considering Elliott already had three of the seven wonders, whereas Mallory only had two. But why wouldn't Elliott tell her? Cordelia liked to think she wasn't a particularly difficult person to talk to, but then again Elliott didn't really seem to talk to her about anything, especially as of late. But still, this ate away at the supreme, making her think of every interaction she had ever had that would cause Elliott to hide it from her.

I'm not like Fiona, I'm not going to kill the girl I think is supposed to succeed me.

Could that have been it? Did Elliott not tell her because she knew her new power meant much more? Elliott was hyper observant, and it didn't exactly take a rocket scientist to tell that Elliott was already a powerful witch, adding another power absolutely put her in the running for supreme. Was she afraid to tell Cordelia? Did she really think Cordelia was like Fiona? That made Cordelia feel sick, and she knew she was spiraling, reading too much into it, but the thought that Elliott might think Cordelia would be capable of hurting her, of killing her, that had her almost on the verge of tears. The supreme forced herself to reign it in, she was letting herself get too into her own head, there was a good chance Elliott didn't even have resurgence, that it was all a weird coincidence, or if she did that she didn't even realize it.

Let's figure out what's actually going on before you start acting crazy.

Cordelia heard the door creak open and Max come running out, Elliott trailing behind him. "Oh there you are!" She said brightly, "Everyone thought you locked yourself in your office again." Cordelia didn't respond, just gave a slight half smile, and Elliott studied the supreme's face for a moment, cocking her head to the side. "What's wrong?" She asked, moving to sit on the swing next to Cordelia.

"Nothing." Cordelia said, trying to shrug it off, but Elliott wasn't buying it.

"You know I can't help if I don't know what's going on." Elliott responded, pressing a little.

Cordelia sat quiet for a moment, trying to figure out what exactly was bothering her the most. There were a million things jumbling around in her head, but one stood out to her. "Do you think I'm like Fiona?" She asked softly, staring down at her hands.

Elliott raised her eyebrows, she knew it was a loaded question, but she also didn't know exactly how to answer it, so she tried to break the tension. "Well you both have impeccable style." She joked, causing Cordelia to let out a laugh and look at her.

"Well, thank you, but you know what I mean." Cordelia said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, I didn't have the same experiences with her that you did, so I can't really speak on that. I didn't know her as well as you did." Elliott said, Cordelia nodding at her, "But, from what I have seen, you two are very different, but you do share some qualities." Cordelia looked down at her hands again, and Elliott could tell the answer wasn't exactly one she wanted to hear. "They're good qualities, it's not a bad thing. Even bad people can have good qualities." She joked, causing the supreme to look up at her confused.

"Like what?" Cordelia asked.

"You both are leaders, in different ways of course, but you have this ability to get people to listen and follow you without having to be the loudest in the room, you don't have to force people to pay attention to you. They just do because they believe in you." Elliott said, causing Cordelia to blush slightly and look at her hands once again. "And you know how to read people, how to ask the right questions. Fiona always knew the moment she saw me when something was wrong, and even if I didn't want to talk about it somehow she would get me to. You know when something is wrong, not only with me, but with any of the girls, and they don't even have to say anything, and you always know how to fix it. That's how your alike." Cordelia nodded, but her face still was solemn, so Elliott asked, "Do you think you're like Fiona?"

Cordelia let out a snort, "I don't know anymore. I try not to be, but sometimes I feel like I still end up like her."

Elliott was curious, so she asked, "How so?"

Cordelia paused for a moment and let out a big, slow breath. "Fiona just always caused so much pain, to everyone around her, especially me. I feel like I'm doing the same thing, even when I don't mean to."

"You don't." Elliott said.

"Yes I do. I know I do." Cordelia responded.

"Cordelia, I promise you, you don't. You care way too much about everyone to do that." Elliott said with more force.

"You can't say that Elle, not after…" Cordelia began, then stopped. She was giving too much away.

"Not after what?" Elliott asked, Cordelia not responding, just biting her lip. "Not after what?" Elliott asked again.

"Not after you." Cordelia said quietly, Elliott just staring at her. "I put you up for adoption, I made the choice to not see you, I didn't tell you who I was, I was the reason you got taken away, that was all me." Cordelia's eyes filled with tears, and she tried her best to hold them at bay, but they spilled over.

"Cordelia, no. You didn't hurt me, you did what you thought was best, there's no way you could have known." Elliott said.

"I should have been more careful when I took you to California, I was reckless. That was my fault." Cordelia whispered. Sure, Elliott could excuse the rest of it, but she couldn't excuse that.

"It was an accident." Elliott said.

"Doesn't matter." Cordelia responded, her voice angry, but Elliott knew she was just angry with herself.

"I hurt you, and that was an accident. Do you blame me?" Elliott asked.

"That's different and you know it." Cordelia said.

"No it isn't. They were accidents. You didn't intend to hurt me, you wanted to keep me safe, and I know that. It's different, Fiona knew she was hurting people and she didn't care, you care." Elliott said, Cordelia looking up to try and blink away her tears. Elliott knew there wasn't an easy fix for this, it would take time, so she tried to steer the conversation to something a little lighter, "Do you think Fiona would willingly take me to a child's birthday party? She wouldn't, she would tell me to go fuck myself."

Cordelia let out a snort at the transition, but was quick to call Elliott out, "Language missy."

Elliott smiled, she saw it coming, that's exactly why she said it. "Am I wrong though?" Cordelia didn't say anything, just laughed as she rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Thank you for going with me, by the way. I'm sure it wasn't exactly fun for you."

Cordelia looked at her curiously, "Why wouldn't I go with you?"

Elliott threw her a sarcastic look, "Oh, I don't know, maybe the screaming kids, the fact that you knew absolutely no one there, or that it was my foster sister's birthday?" Cordelia let out a small laugh as she looked down, but it came off as sad so Elliott continued, "I just know it wasn't easy for you, to face it, but you did it for me, and I appreciate it, that's all."

Cordelia looked up at her and offered a small smile, "No, I'm glad that I went. Talking with Angela was actually really good, it's nice to know I'm not the only one who's feeling like this."

"Feeling like what?" Elliott asked, cocking her head to the side.

Cordelia hesitated, which caused Elliott to raise her eyebrows. Cordelia hated feeling vulnerable, but somehow Elliott managed to force her to be, and suddenly she was hit with the realization that her and Elliott were actually much more alike than she had previously thought, and it might not be a bad thing. They both pushed each other out of their comfort zones, made them break their bad habits. They forced each other to be honest, so Cordelia opened up. "Feeling like I want to know everything that happened but also none of it. I hate not knowing what happened, because I want to know how to help, and I want to understand it, but I also don't want to because then it will just make me feel worse, if that's even possible."

Elliott was quiet for a moment, she understood it completely. She knew Cordelia blamed herself for everything, that she wouldn't let it go, even though Elliott wanted her to. But, by Elliott not talking about it, even though she was trying to protect Cordelia, she also was hurting her at the same time, and she didn't even realize it. The imagination was probably far worse than reality, especially with the way Cordelia's mind worked. "What do you want to know?" Elliott finally asked softly.

Cordelia was shocked by the response, Elliott was never open to talking about it, and if she ever was it was on her terms. She didn't want to push the girl before she was ready, so she answered, "Oh no, I don't want to make you talk about it before you are ready to. I'm fine."

"I wouldn't have asked the question if I wasn't ok with talking about it." Elliott said, laughing softly, "I didn't want to upset you, but it's obviously bothering you. So, what do you want to know?"

Cordelia was quiet, debating what to ask, but the same thing had been nagging her brain since she talked with Angela, so she asked, "What happened with Cora?"

Elliott raised her eyebrows in surprise, "Oh, so she told you about that." Cordelia nodded, so Elliott continued, "One night they were making dinner and ran out of milk, so they sent me to the store to buy some. I was only going to be gone for a half hour max, so I didn't take the girls, I just told them to stay in their room. But I guess Cora was thirsty, so she went downstairs to get some water, and she ended up dropping a glass and breaking it, which sent the guy off." Cordelia raised her eyebrows, suddenly understanding why Elliott had freaked out earlier in the week, "It's a pretty common thing for foster parents to get mad about, it wasn't just that house. But because me and Emma protected her so much, Cora didn't know any better, she still acted like a normal kid. She didn't understand why he was so mad, so she started crying, which just made him even more angry, and he started hitting her, and he wouldn't stop. Emma came downstairs and saw everything, even his wife couldn't get him to stop, not even after she was unconscious. Emma freaked out and called me sobbing, said Cora wasn't breathing. She had no idea what was actually going on, she just knew her sister wasn't moving, so she thought she was dead. I panicked and ran home, and I finally pulled him off of her. He started panicking and Emma was sobbing and all I could do was sit there with her in my lap and pray. I don't even believe in god, but I had to right then. I didn't even think to check if she was even still alive, I was just panicked. Then, she opened her eyes, she was fine, but she gave everyone a heart attack. He didn't touch the girls after that though, so I guess something good came out of it."

Cordelia sat there silent, she really didn't know what to say, so Elliott continued, "I know you don't understand why I didn't tell anyone, but that was exactly why. If the girls got separated I knew there was no way Cora would make it. We protected her, probably too much. She was loud and crazy and clumsy, she didn't understand how to lay low or be careful, she was just a normal kid, which doesn't fly when you're there. If they got separated she would be killed, and I couldn't live with that."

For once, Cordelia actually understood. Even if Elliott wasn't looking out for her own physical well-being, she was looking out for herself mentally. If Cora had died Elliott would never recover from that, much like Cordelia never recovered from Misty dying. She still struggled with it, with the guilt, even though Misty was back with her. "What about the night you ended up in the hospital?" Cordelia asked, noticing how the color drained from Elliott's face. She almost looked… guilty?

Elliott hesitated before answering. She knew she wouldn't be able to give Cordelia the full story, not if she wanted the older woman to be able to look at her again. Elliott hadn't even been able to look in the mirror without feeling disgusted with herself, she couldn't even think about what actually happened, so she offered the woman the truth, but not the full truth. "I was upstairs with the girls when they got into a fight downstairs. It wasn't unusual, and usually I tried not to get involved. He would throw things and break whatever he could get his hands on, sometimes he would go after her. I don't know, after what happened with Cora I just snapped. I couldn't deal with it anymore, so I went downstairs and pulled him off of her. He went back at her though, so… I used magic. I flung him up against the wall, and he completely lost it and came at me, and I panicked. She tried to get him off of me, but he wouldn't stop. I thought I was going to die; I was sure of it. But I guess she hit him with a pan or something, which startled him, and he slammed my head against the counter, then I blacked out."

"Did you ever think about telling me?" Cordelia asked.

Elliott nodded, "Every day. That's why I stopped calling. I felt guilty about it, but I knew if I talked to you I would break down, I couldn't trust myself."

Cordelia grabbed Elliott's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. As much as it hurt to actually hear what happened, it also made Cordelia feel better in some strange way. It was closure, now the supreme didn't have to wonder. She didn't need to know every detail of what happened, she could fill in the blanks based on what Elliott had told her, and for once her mind was quiet. Cordelia sat and marveled at Elliott for a moment, she couldn't believe how amazing she was, she was everything Cordelia wanted to be. Elliott was strong, and brave, and caring. She would easily put her life on the line for someone else, and she was only 15. How in the world did Cordelia get so lucky? As much as the supreme hated herself for what had happened to the girl, she also knew that Elliott wouldn't be half the person she was if it hadn't.

The strangely comfortable silence was quickly interrupted as Max jumped on the swing and laid across Elliott's lap, or tried to at least, making both the women laugh. "You do realize you are way too big to be a lap dog right? You're crushing me." Elliott said with a snicker.

"He adores you." Cordelia said.

"That's only because I feed him." Elliott laughed.

"No, he is in love with you, food or not. He laid by the door every night for the first week you were gone, he was miserable." Cordelia said.

"Dude, we talked about this, you weren't supposed to do that. What did he do after that?" Elliott asked, grinning at the dog.

"He slept with me, and he wouldn't leave me alone." Cordelia answered.

"Ah, so you do listen to me, sort of." Elliott said to Max, causing Cordelia to give her a questioning look. "We might have had a conversation before I left."

"You had a conversation with a dog?" Cordelia asked, laughing.

"Well obviously he understood me, so." Elliott said sarcastically as Misty walked onto the porch.

"Oh there ya are, the girls thought ya got kidnapped." Misty said, moving towards the swing.

"No one saw the dog was missing and thought to check outside?" Elliott said sarcastically as she pushed Max off, Cordelia pulling the young girl towards her to make room, wrapping her arms around the girl and dropping a kiss on her head as Cordelia laughed.

"Apparently not. Ya ok?" Misty asked, sitting on the swing.

"Yea, we were just talking." Cordelia said.

"About what?" Misty asked.

"Max. Apparently me having conversations with him is weird. What do you think?" Elliott asked, Cordelia rolling her eyes.

"Max is basically a person, Dee. It's not weird at all. I talked with Stevie all the time." Misty answered.

Elliott looked up at Cordelia and the two smiled at each other. "Yea, talking with an alligator is weird, sorry." Elliott said, making Cordelia laugh.

"Well then talkin' with a dog is weird. I was tryin ta help ya out." Misty said, pretending to be offended before laughing.

"That's fine, I'm ok being weird." Elliott said, "You guys ready for classes to start Monday?"

"No." Both Cordelia and Misty said in unison, making Elliott chuckle.

"Neither am I." Elliott said honestly.

"Well you will have a lot more free time than the rest of the girls." Cordelia said, making Elliott look up at her with her eyebrows furrowed. "The other girls still have to take some normal classes, like math and science, but you obviously already know it, so I'm not going to make you sit through it all again, unless you want to."

"So does that mean I can sit out in the greenhouse all day?" Elliott asked, the excitement flickering in her eyes.

"If you want to." Cordelia said laughing, "I've never met a girl who actually wants to take more classes. Don't you want to sit and watch tv like the rest of the girls?"

"Tv is boring, plus I've read almost every book in the library already. I'm trying to convince Trevor to send me some from the boys school just so I don't go insane." Elliott responded.

"Maybe ya should leave the house every once in a while Elle, then ya wouldn't get so bored." Misty joked.

"I leave the house!" Elliott said, offended.

"Yea, ok." Cordelia chuckled.

"I do! I left today!" Elliott said.

"Yea, did ya see the looks on the other parents faces when they saw the batman box? Ya woulda thought you gave the girl a bomb." Misty joked.

"I mean I basically did. That's partly why I did it, for shock value. Also Cora hated everything else she got. She hates pink, and dresses, and literally anything that's considered girly." Elliott said.

The three chatted for a little bit until it was time for bed, Misty heading in earlier than the other two. "You ok?" Elliott asked as she stood, wanting to make sure she didn't say too much and make things worse for the supreme.

"Yea, I'm ok. Are you?" Cordelia asked.

Elliott nodded and the two went inside, Elliott walking in front of Cordelia into the supreme's room. "You staying in here tonight?" Cordelia joked, walking in behind her. Elliott gave her a shy smile and Cordelia laughed, walking over to her dresser and grabbing two pairs of pj's before walking back to the girl and handing her one, pulling her in for a hug, "God I love you."


	31. Chapter 31

The next few weeks at the coven were chaotic, and not in a good way. Cordelia was completely overwhelmed. Between John Henry not having a clue what he was doing, trying to hire more teachers for the boys school, teaching classes, and trying to keep the girls from killing each other, plus her duties as supreme, Cordelia was one wrong move away from a breakdown, and that didn't even cover what was going on with Elliott. The supreme didn't necessarily blame the girl, it wasn't like she could control it, but everything with Elliott was always so up and down. One day she was completely fine and Cordelia felt like things might be getting better, and the next she wasn't.

Elliott tried her best to keep herself in check, she knew the supreme had enough on her plate and she could feel the stress whenever Cordelia entered the same room. She did her best to help relieve some of it, staying in Cordelia's office during her free time and helping her grade assignments, but she knew it wasn't enough. The young witch tried to cover up when she was having bad days, doing her best to avoid the older witch all together whenever she was feeling overly anxious or irritated, but the two were barely spending any time together as it was, they were lucky if they even talked to each other once throughout the day. It was wearing on both of them, both feeling like they weren't doing enough, which only added to their stress.

That day alone Cordelia had to call several girls into her office to discuss their behavior, broken up two fights, and listened to John Henry bitch at her for over an hour, and she felt like she was about to scream. Cordelia was crouched over her desk with her head in her hands when someone knocked on her door. "Yea?" She said, the irritation clear in her voice.

Elliott cautiously peeked her head around the door, catching a glare from the supreme. "Hey, thought I would come hang out for a bit. You need help grading anything?" She asked, her voice wavering a bit. It wasn't that she was scared of Cordelia, it was just that the older witch had been snippy with her all week for practically no reason, which was opening up a lot of insecurities for Elliott, she felt like she was bothering her all the time.

"Elle, now really isn't a good time." Cordelia said harshly, slamming shut her binder and dropping it to the floor next to her, making Elliott physically recoil.

"Ok." Elliott said quietly as she nodded her head and closed the door, taking a deep breath before stepping away and heading to the greenhouse, Max trailing behind her. Elliott usually avoided taking him to the greenhouse, especially when there were classes going on, but he was incredibly well trained and honestly Elliott needed him around at the moment.

Elliott walked into the greenhouse and Misty immediately looked over to her and smiled, her offering the older witch a small smile back. Misty looked at her curiously but continued teaching her class, Elliott walking to the back and sitting at an empty seat. She didn't really pay attention to what was being taught, she had already had her class earlier, so she just tried to quietly fiddle with some plants near her until the girls broke off to work individually. Misty quickly bee lined towards her, "Dee not need ya help?"

Elliott looked up at her, "Uh no, she was really busy." Elliott tried to keep her face as neutral as possible, but she knew it was no use when Misty gave her a knowing look.

"Ya ok?" Misty asked softly. As much as Elliott tried to hide her problems from Cordelia, she couldn't do it with Misty, she literally slept right next to her. She knew every bad day Elle had, every nightmare, and with Cordelia being so caught up in work, Misty had become the person Elliott leaned on when she had a rough time, by this point she could read her like a book.

Elliott nodded softly and offered a half smile, and Misty rubbed her hand on the girls back before walking away. Truth be told Elliott wasn't sure how she felt, she wasn't good by any means, but she wasn't exactly bad either. It was a weird, uncomfortable middle ground, like a foggy day as opposed to a complete storm, but she also didn't want to dive into it when Misty was in the middle of class, and the older witch knew that.

"Why does she get so much free time?" Elliott heard a girl at the table in front of her whisper, "She literally only has like three classes, and all of them are magic."

"Perks of being the supreme's daughter, I guess. Or maybe she just can't do normal school, she was in foster care you know, she might be stupid." Another girl whispered. They weren't girls Elliott knew, she couldn't even remember their names, and she just rolled her eyes. Hearing kids whisper about her wasn't new, this happened at every school she went to, and it wasn't anything she hadn't heard before. In the past it had really bugged her, but she had quickly grown out of it and now was unbothered. She could take it; it's not like they actually knew anything about her.

Elliott went through the rest of her classes, having history of magic as her last one, the one class Cordelia taught. Normally, Cordelia avoided singling Elliott out or calling on her to answer a question, she didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable and she knew Elliott already knew the answers anyways. But that day was a particularly difficult class, none of the girls were really putting in effort and frankly Cordelia didn't have the patience, so she called on the young witch. "Elliott, why did Prudence perform the sacred taking?"

Elliott felt the entire classes eyes on her, and her face turned bright red. She hated talking in class, like really hated it. She was the type to never raise her hand or ask questions, it just gave her anxiety, she just wanted to disappear. "Um, because she was fading and she knew she couldn't make the journey. She wanted the coven to have a healthy leader to get them to safety."

"Very good." Cordelia said, giving Elliott a small smile before continuing on with her lesson.

"Ha, I bet Cordelia told her what to say, there's no way she would have known it on her own." Elliott heard behind her.

"Does she even have powers? I haven't seen her use them once. I bet she isn't even magic." Another voice said, and Elliott recognized them as the girls from before. Elliott rolled her eyes once again, she knew this was going to be a problem, this was exactly why she didn't want to talk to any of the girls, girls were too catty for her.

Elliott drowned out the rest of the lesson, she really didn't need to hear it, she already knew. Frankly she was surprised Cordelia still made her take the class, but Elliott knew she already had way too much free time as is. Cordelia noticed she wasn't paying attention, which only added to her frustration. This class was already difficult enough, Elliott was supposed to be the one kid she didn't have to worry about.

Cordelia locked herself in her study until after dinner, she didn't think she could handle having to break up any more bickering, and luckily no one bothered her. The girls had all left after dinner to go do something, but Elliott stayed back, which gave Misty and Elliott some time to talk in the kitchen. "Ya feelin' ok?" Misty asked, sitting at the counter with the girl.

Elliott briefly glanced over at the swamp witch before looking back down, her hands clasped in front of her on the counter. "Yea, I'm ok." She said softly.

"Really? Cause it didn't seem like it earlier." Misty pressed, "Did somethin' happen?" Misty knew Elliott was struggling to adjust to all the new people and classes, and with Cordelia being so busy and stressed she really didn't have time to check in with Elliott to make sure she was doing ok, not that Misty blamed her.

"No, not really. I went to see if Cordelia needed any help with anything before I came out to the greenhouse, and she made it pretty clear she didn't want me around right then. It's not a big deal she was just pretty short with me." Elliott explained.

"Yea, she's been pretty stressed from what I've seen. I'm sure it didn't have anythin' ta do with ya." Misty explained, noting how Elliott dropped her gaze once again.

"Is it going to be like this all year?" Elliott asked quietly. She didn't want to be a brat, she knew Cordelia had very valid reasons for acting the way she did, it just made the young witch nervous.

Misty's heart broke a how scared the girl sounded. Elliott was never one to complain about anything, so for her to say something it had to be really bugging her. "Nah, it won't be like this all year. Things will settle down eventually, don't ya worry."

Elliott nodded but her facial expression didn't change, and Misty was starting to think whatever was bothering the girl was deeper than her just being worried about the supreme. She didn't push the witch though, knowing if Elliott wanted to talk about it she would, so she changed the subject. "Have ya talked more with the other girls?"

"Some of them. Coco seems nice." Elliott responded. She had been making an effort to get to know some of the other girls, but she still was struggling. She just felt so out of place with them, and the girls talking about her that day didn't really help. "Um, I might start going to some of the other classes, the normal ones. I know I don't have to but I have a lot of free time, probably too much to be honest."

Misty threw her a questioning look, "Why would ya want ta go ta those? Ya are just gonna be bored outta ya mind. No use in learnin' stuff ya already know." Elliott bit her lip and looked away from the older witch as she shrugged her shoulders, a telltale sign that she was hiding something. "Elle? Why do ya want ta go?"

"I told you, I have too much extra time. Might as well do something with it." Elliott said, but she still wasn't making eye contact.

"I think ya and me both know that's a load a shit. What's goin' on?" Misty pressed, causing Elliott to sigh.

"I overheard some girls talking in the greenhouse, about me not having as many classes as they do. They think I can't do it and that's why I don't go, or that it's some favoritism thing." Elliott finally admitted. "It's not that I have to prove it to them or anything, I don't. I just think it might be easier to get to know the girls if I actually take the same classes they do."

"Don't let them get ta ya darlin'. They just don't know ya." Misty offered.

"I know, but with me not having class half the day it just makes it that much harder. I'm already in a weird spot because I'm Cordelia's kid, I really don't need them to think I'm getting special treatment." Elliott said, Misty raising her eyebrows. "I don't care that they're talking about me, I'm pretty used to it by now from constantly moving between schools. But me mostly hanging out with the teachers and spending my free time in Cordelia's office is kind of… isolating I guess?"

Misty didn't buy it that Elliott wasn't bothered by the girls talking, but she wasn't going to push it, so she just smiled softly and nodded. "Ok, if ya really want ta I don't think Dee will have a problem with it."

"Problem with what?" Cordelia asked as she walked in the room, walking over to the counter and pouring herself a glass of wine. She was still agitated, and you could tell.

"Elle is gettin' bored and wants ta start goin' ta some of the other normal classes." Misty replied, noticing how tense Elliott got when the supreme walked in the room.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Cordelia said shortly.

"Why not?" Elliott asked.

"Because it isn't social hour, Elle. It's school. The girls need to learn this stuff, and I don't want to stick you in a class you won't pay attention to." Cordelia said harshly, making Elliott and Misty's eyes go wide.

"I'll pay attention." Elliott said quietly, which just earned her a glare from the supreme.

"Really? Because you weren't paying attention in history today. I already have to deal with the rest of the girls and now you too?" Cordelia spat.

Misty looked stunned, and she glanced over at Elliott and noticed how terrified she looked. "I'm sorry…" Elliott said quietly, to which Cordelia just shook her head. This was completely out of character for the supreme, and no one knew how to react. The room was quiet for a few moments before Elliott slowly stood up and quietly left, heading up to David's room. She didn't even bother knocking before she entered, spotting David sitting on the bed studying and walking over to him, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Oh, hey. I'm just finishing some homework." David said, glancing over at her and seeing the look on her face, shutting his laptop. "What happened?"

"I don't know what I did." Elliott stuttered, on the verge of tears.

"What you did with who?" David asked, concerned.

"Cordelia. We were fine and I don't…" Elliott said, trailing off and shaking her head.

"Did she yell at you?" David asked, Elliott shaking her head in return. "Well you said she's been stressed…"

"Can we get out of here?" Elliott asked, "I just don't want to be here."

"You want to go get some ice cream and talk?" David asked, Elliott nodding, "You'll have to ask if it's ok."

"I can ask." Elliott said, although she didn't sound too sure of herself.

Meanwhile, Misty turned to Cordelia in the kitchen, "Dee, ya gotta cut her some slack."

"Misty, I get it's been a while since she's been in school, but she has to pay attention." Cordelia responded.

"She's had a rough time, with all the girls and her nightmares comin' back…" Misty began, only to be cut off by the older witch.

"Wait, she's having nightmares again?" Cordelia asked, Misty hesitantly nodding in return, "Why didn't I know about this?"

"Well I've been able ta calm her down myself, no use getting ya up too." Misty said.

"When did this start?" Cordelia asked, her words laced with venom.

"About a week ago." Misty responded.

"And you just decided to not tell me?" Cordelia asked, and Misty was starting to feel like this was an interrogation.

"Dee, I didn't really have time ta tell ya, ya have been busy, and it's not like ya could do anythin' ta fix it anyways. Plus, Elle really didn't want ta add more ta ya plate. I've been handlin' it." Misty said, trying to calm the supreme down.

"It's not your job to handle it, she's my kid, you should have gotten me." Cordelia said, frustrated.

"Elle begged me not ta." Misty responded.

"Like that's ever stopped you before?" Cordelia asked, and Misty knew this wasn't a fight that would cease anytime soon.

The two bickered for another fifteen minutes, getting absolutely nowhere until the argument lulled, both women fuming by that point. Elliott hesitantly walked and stood in the doorframe, Misty making eye contact with her while Cordelia had her back to her. "Can I" Elliott began before Cordelia cut her off.

"Elliott, can you just stay out of it for once?" Cordelia said loudly, her words harsh as she whipped around to face the girl. The hurt plastered on Elliott's face was exactly what Cordelia needed to snap out of it, a wave of guilt washing over her as she watched the girls face shift, covering up her hurt with a hard expression. "Elle…" She said as she walked toward the girl, only to feel herself magically being pushed back when she was a few feet from her. She wasn't shoved hard, just enough to throw off her balance slightly and make her take a step back, shocking her a bit.

Elliott didn't even wait for the supreme to try and talk to her again, she just looked behind her towards the stairs, "Let's just go."

Cordelia watched her turn and walk out the door, David walking in front of the doorframe, and his expression wasn't as hard as Elliott's but it was solemn. "I'm going to take her for ice cream or something, she was coming to ask if it was ok. We'll be back later." Cordelia nodded slightly, a second wave of guilt crashing down as David walked out and closed the door.

She stood there for a moment, just processing everything that happened. She didn't dare turn around to face Misty, she could already feel the hurt and anger radiating off of her, she couldn't bear to see the look on her face. Finally, it was Misty who broke the silence, "Ya can't do that Dee. Ya can't take it out on her."

Cordelia dropped her head and turned to face the witch, resting her elbows on the counter. "I know. I didn't mean to blow up at her just now." She said softly.

"It wasn't just now Dee, ya have been snippy with her and everyone for weeks. The rest of us can handle that, but she can't. She doesn't know the difference between ya being mad in general and ya being mad at her." Misty said honestly. Misty didn't say it out loud, but she had put the pieces together, Elliott's nightmares had started back up around the same time Cordelia got stressed, and it was bothering the young witch more than she led on.

"She was fine before today." Cordelia said, the confusion evident in her voice, and Misty pursed her lips, showing there was more to it than she was letting on, "What?"

"She hasn't been fine, she's just been avoidin' ya." Misty said.

"No she hasn't, she's been up in my office helping me grade things." Cordelia said.

"Yea, when ya both are havin' a decent day. On the days ya aren't she doesn't." Misty replied.

"So she's mad at me? Is that what this is?" Cordelia asked, "I tried to apologize and she literally pushed me away, Mist. She was furious."

"She wasn't mad darlin', she was scared." Misty said honestly, watching as the supreme's face fell once again.

Cordelia felt stupid for not realizing it, Elliott had done the same thing when Cordelia tried to comfort her that night at the store, when she walked towards her a little too fast. When Elliott got scared she closed off, looking angry was more useful to her than looking vulnerable. It had stopped Cordelia back then and it had stopped her that night.

While the two continued to talk, David and Elliott had gotten to the ice cream shop across town. There was about fifty shops closer to the house, but David had decided it would be better for Elliott to be as far away from there as possible. The two ordered their ice creams, although by then Elliott's stomach was so upset she didn't really think she would be able to eat it, and sat down. It was silent for a few moments before David spoke, "Ok, so what's going on?"

"I don't know. Everything was fine before school started and now it isn't." Elliott said honestly, "I don't really want to talk about it anymore."

"Elle, you have to talk about it, it's obviously bugging you and it's not like you'll be willing to talk about it when we are back at the house." David said, Elliott staring down at her ice cream. "I'm sorry she yelled at you."

"It's fine." Elliott said, completely closed off.

"It's not fine, she shouldn't have done that, even if she's stressed." David said, "But it's obviously bugging you, so let's talk."

"We don't need to talk." Elliott said firmly, "There's no use talking about it, it's going to end the same either way."

"What do you mean?" David asked, noticing Elliott's eyes becoming hazy with tears. He knew something bigger was going on, and he wanted to get to the bottom of it right then.

"I probably won't be there much longer so we don't have to talk about it." Elliott said harshly.

"Why wouldn't you still be there?" David asked, causing Elliott to look at him like he was crazy. "Are you going to leave?"

"No." Elliott said, resting her head on one hand, which was rubbing at her temple.

"You think she's going to send you away?" David asked, to which Elliott just looked at him, "Elle, she's not, I promise you."

"Yes, she is. It's fine, I expected it at some point." Elliott said, lifting her head and eating a spoonful of ice cream. She was trying to play it off like it didn't matter, but you could tell it did.

"Why do you think she's going to send you away?" David said.

"Because she doesn't want to deal with me and she's made it pretty obvious. She's been snippy with me for weeks, and then after the blowup today it's pretty crystal freaking clear." Elliott explained.

"Elle, it's not that she doesn't want to deal with you, she's stressed. She's been snippy with everyone, including me." David said.

"No, she's mad at me about something." Elliott said, she was always too stubborn.

"No, she's mad at everyone." David said.

"No, when I'm mad I don't take it out on everyone, and neither do you. She's mad at me." Elliott argued.

"Because you and me know how to compartmentalize, not everyone else does. She's not mad at you, she's mad about something else but she can't pack it away like you and I can. If she was mad at you she wouldn't have been so upset about yelling at you." David explained.

"If she wasn't mad at me she wouldn't have yelled at me in the first place." Elliott responded.

"It doesn't always work like that, Elle. She wasn't thinking when she said it, and she didn't mean it. When people get upset they lash out, and it's not always at who they are upset with." David said, "It's not like the other places where everything was somehow your fault, even when it wasn't. She isn't mad at you, she's mad at whatever situation is happening and taking it out on you, which still isn't ok, but I don't think she realized she was doing it." Elliott didn't say anything, she just nodded slightly, so David continued, "What was goin on down there before you went to ask? I mean something had to be happening for her to say that to you?"

"She was fighting with Misty." Elliott said.

"About what?" David asked.

"Me. At least from what I could overhear." Elliott explained.

"And do you usually get involved when they fight?" David asked, curious as to how this all happened.

"They don't normally fight, but I have been known to get more involved in their relationship than I should be." Elliott answered.

"Elle, you have to let them handle their own stuff." David sighed.

"Well if they actually handled it I would, but they don't. Cordelia gets spooked by literally anything that happens between them but won't actually say anything to Misty, and Misty is too busy trying to respect her space to actually push when she needs to." Elliott said indignantly.

"Elle, if they can't even communicate then maybe it's a sign that they shouldn't be together?" David said.

"No, they are supposed to be together but Misty doesn't want to overstep and Cordelia thinks she doesn't deserve anything good so she self-sabotages." Elliott explained.

David let out a snort at the Cordelia comment, her and Elliott really were a lot alike, and Elliott threw him a look. "Elle, I know you want them to be together but that doesn't mean they are actually supposed to be together."

Elliott looked offended, "I am not a 10 year old girl who is a hopeless romantic and thinks it's all sunshine and roses. I know sometimes things don't work out how you want them too. I'm not that naïve. But they are supposed to be together."

"How do you know?" David asked.

Elliott paused, she knew this was going to sound absolutely ridiculous and completely negate her earlier point, but she had to tell it to someone. "Ok, so Misty actually died before, when I said she left the coven. She was doing the test to figure out the next supreme and she got trapped in hell. Now, when that happens, they are supposed to be gone forever, permeant property of the underworld. But when I got sick, I had a dream about her. I had never met her, never seen a picture of her, nothing. Cordelia wouldn't even talk about her, none of the girls would besides Madison bringing her up once. And it was a weird dream, with demons and shit, and I had been having the same exact dream every night for like a week straight. And once I actually saw her, when I woke up she was back. That wasn't an accident, she's here for a reason."

"And you think that reason is to be Cordelia's soulmate?" David asked, confused but also intrigued.

"Yea, I know. It sounds ridiculous, but the underworld doesn't just randomly decide to give her back, you know from Grace, that doesn't happen. After she came back everything was different, even Cordelia was different, it was like everything fell into place. She came back for her." Elliott said.

"So, do you think they are meant to be because they actually are, or are you afraid they if they break up things will fall apart?" David asked.

"I don't know, maybe both. But I'm stuck in the middle of it, watching everything, and I'm the one that's going to have to deal with the fallout." Elliott said.

"Yea, you might, and it's going to suck. But you getting involved isn't good either, eventually you just have to let them figure it out." David said, Elliott nodding in return as she finally finished her ice cream. "You ready to go back yet?"

Elliott paused, letting out a sigh before she said, "Yea, I guess so."

The two climbed back into the car and started the drive back, David making sure he took the long way home, and he blasted Elliott's favorite songs to try and get her in a better mood. Elliott rolled her eyes as he sang loudly and incredibly off key, and he quickly changed the station to country music, which he knew Elliott hated. "Turn it off!" Elliott yelled over the music, David just smiling and singing back at her until they pulled up to a stoplight. He unbuckled his seatbelt to reach into the back of the car, coming back with a cowboy hat he put on Elliott's head. "David do not, put your seatbelt back on before you kill yourself." He just smiled at her as the light turned green, starting to go as he fumbled to grab for the belt, not noticing the car that didn't stop for the red light. "Watch out!" Elliott screamed as she saw the impossibly bright headlights, then heard glass shattering as her world went black.


	32. Chapter 32

Ringing was the first thing Elliott heard when she came to, her face smashed up against an airbag. She was disoriented, and all she could feel was pain, from her arm, her chest, her face, everywhere. Why are my ears ringing? What happened? She felt the shards of broken glass under her hands as she opened and closed her eyes, everything hazy in her vision as she tried to pull herself up from her slumped position, holding in a scream when her right hand refused to bear any weight. The radio was still playing, that god awful country song, and suddenly everything came back to her: Cordelia yelling, going for ice cream, David putting the hat on her head, the headlights. She quickly pulled herself up and looked around, hearing the shards of glass make a twinkling sound as they fell to the pavement outside of the car. David. Where's David?

She looked over at the driver's seat and saw nothing, not even a trace that someone had been there, which only caused her to panic. I need to get out of here. She whipped her head around to the passenger door, reaching over with her good arm to pull the lock and try to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. No. No. NO. Elliott turned her body as best she could and kicked, bracing herself against the center counsel until the door finally came free, crawling out of the car and onto the pavement. She was still disoriented, everything hazy and dreamlike, and as she tried to stand she felt incredibly dizzy, so she settled for crawling. Her face was wet and sticky, and she reached her hand up to where the pain in her head was, coming back with a handful of blood. Shit.

She refocused on finding David, although truth be told she really hoped she wouldn't. He wasn't wearing his seatbelt, and based on him not being in the car, he probably wasn't even alive at this point, but she had to swallow her fear down, it was the only way she was going to get through it. I need to call 911. Where is my phone? No find David first, then your phone.

It didn't take very long to find him, he was about three feet in front of the front of the car, face down, not moving. Elliott's heart stopped and she thought she might be sick, but she forced herself to get it together, crawling over to him and trying to flip him over, noticing the blood that coated his face. She tried to shake him, but there was no response. She felt a wave of panic wash over her as she tried to feel for a pulse, but truthfully she didn't know exactly where to look. She probed his neck praying to feel something, anything, as she watched his chest to see if he was breathing, but he wasn't. This isn't happening, not again. Elliott started sobbing as she leaned over him, praying. Please bring him back. I'll do anything, just please bring him back. She let out a deep breath as she heard another car pull up to the scene, getting out and calling the police, but she didn't care. He was gone, her best friend was gone. She shut her eyes and willed it all to go away as she got lightheaded, then suddenly she felt the limp body beneath her move, but only slightly. It was enough to make her open her eyes and look down, David's eyes fluttering as she let out a strangled laugh, hearing ambulance sirens in the distance. "It's ok, you're ok. Just stay still."

Meanwhile, back at the house, Cordelia and Misty were still in the exact same position as earlier, waiting for the teens to get home. "Where are they? Shouldn't they be back by now?" Cordelia asked, frustrated and antsy. Elliott and David had been gone for three hours, the time far past when any of the ice cream shops in town would be open.

"She was pretty upset, I'm sure she just didn't want ta come back so they went somewhere else for a while. They'll be back soon." Misty answered, although she was antsy herself. The girls had all come back and were already in bed, and she knew Cordelia was itching to talk to Elliott, tapping her fingers on the counter in an unfiltered rhythm.

"Maybe it's time to think of a curfew." Cordelia said, "Who goes out for ice cream for three hours?"

"Pissed off kids." Misty answered, causing the supreme to throw a glare at her. "Dee, I'm sorry, but ya yelled at her. I wouldn't want ta come home either."

"It's kind of hard to apologize when she isn't even here, Misty. She has class tomorrow." Cordelia responded.

"Speaking of class, ya gotta let Elliott go ta the other classes." Misty said, changing the subject.

"Why?" Cordelia asked, "She already knows it, I don't get why she would want to sit through it again."

"Cause she's already got too much time on her hands, she's bored." Misty said.

"She's just going to be bored there." Cordelia said, noticing how Misty's face changed, "What?"

"I guess some of the girls have been talkin and Elle overheard it. She said it didn't really bother her, not that I really believe that, but she wants ta go so she isn't so isolated." Misty explained.

"The girls have been talking about her? Why didn't she tell me?" Cordelia asked.

"Why would she tell ya? So ya can yell at them? That's not gonna help her out, Dee." Misty said as the phone rang.

"She still should have told me. God, who is calling this late? I swear if John Henry can't get his shit together…" Cordelia said as she walked out of the room, heading to the office to grab the phone. "Hello?"

Misty waited downstairs, chuckling about the mess with John Henry, until Cordelia walked back into the room, her face pale and her motions frantic, "Everythin' ok?"

"Elliott and David were in a car accident, they're at the hospital." Cordelia said, moving around the room searching, "I need my keys."

"Dee, they are upstairs in ya office, that's where they always are." Misty said, trying her best to remain calm. Cordelia quickly ran back up the stairs and came back with her keys a few moments later, turning to walk out the door. "Dee, ya need shoes."

Cordelia looked down at her bare feet and moved to grab the closest pair of shoes, which happened to be slippers, and ran for the car. Misty slid into the passenger seat and Cordelia looked over at her confused for a moment. "Do ya not want me ta come with ya?" Cordelia didn't say anything, just shook her head and started driving, obviously in some sort of a trance. Of course Misty would want to come with her, how could she not expect that? "Did they say how they were doin'?" Misty asked.

"No, they didn't say anything." Cordelia replied.

"Why the hell wouldn't they say anythin?" Misty said.

"Because they probably don't know anything." Cordelia responded, her voice wavering.

At the hospital, Elliott was perched on a chair in the emergency waiting room, her knees close to her chest as police stood around her. She knew they were waiting to ask her questions, she couldn't be questioned without a parent there, or at least that's how she thought it worked. She stared blankly ahead and willed everything to stop: the ringing in her ears, the blurriness of her vison, the pain that radiated through her head and body, everything. She could feel the adrenaline rushing through her veins still, making her thoughts come together in short clips.

The paramedics said she should be checked out, but she refused, only letting them give her some gauze for her head to stop the bleeding. She knew eventually she would need medical attention, or Cordelia would make her get it once she found out, but she couldn't deal with anyone probing at her while all of this was going on, she needed to be out waiting for news on David. Elliott hadn't said much since she arrived at the hospital, for a while she even refused to give them a name or number for someone to contact for her, she was too in her own head to even remember that there were people waiting at home for her, only realizing it once she stared at the clock as it ticked, noticing how long she had actually been gone. She never found her phone, not that she bothered to really look, but it wasn't until the nurse asked for Cordelia's number that Elliott realized she didn't know it. She knew David's and Sarah's by heart, but she never really had to learn the supreme's since she wasn't changing phones constantly. The nurse ended up looking up the number for the school, which was how Elliott knew that Cordelia was on her way, and she wasn't really sure how she felt about it. She was still upset about earlier, but at that moment it wasn't exactly the most important thing she had to deal with.

The driver from the other car was dead, Elliott knew that because two ambulances showed up, but only one left with its sirens on. That's why the police were hovering, because they needed her to tell them what happened, she was the only person involved who was actually conscious to do so. The car had to be totaled, there was no way it wasn't, from what Elliott saw both cars were in bad shape, the high speed of the impact twisting David's car around the other.

Elliott stared up at the clock once again, willing time to go by faster. She just wanted to know something, anything. She looked back down at the floor, realizing staring at the clock actually made time go by slower, and sat there for a few more minutes until she heard the sliding doors open, spotting two blondes walk up to the nurse's desk out of her peripheral vision. Both women went to move toward her once the nurse pointed in her direction, walking over and sitting on either side of her. "Hey baby girl. What happened?" Cordelia asked, turning Elliott's face toward her and ghosting her hand over the gauze and black eye Elliott had gotten from the force of the airbag going off. Elliott didn't respond, just shook her head slightly. "Have you heard anything about David?" Cordelia tried again, Elliott looking away from her and shaking her head again as Misty went to rub her back.

Cordelia turned and looked towards the officers who were obviously hovering, one catching her eye and motioning her over to them. She quickly turned back to her daughter and ran her hand along the girl's upper arm before standing and making her way over to them. "What the hell happened?" She asked.

"That's what we are trying to figure out. There were no witnesses to the crash, someone found it and called 911. We were waiting for her parents to get here but we need to talk to her." One of the officers said, trying to keep his voice low.

"She's really not in any state to talk right now." Cordelia said.

"We figured, she was pretty adversarial on the scene. She wouldn't talk or let the paramedics or doctors check her out." The other officer said.

"Wait, she hasn't been checked out yet? Why would they just let her sit out here?" Cordelia asked, stunned.

"They can't force her. She has a right to refuse medical attention until her legal guardian says otherwise." The first officer said, giving Cordelia a knowing look.

"Yea, I don't think that will go over very well." Cordelia responded, her face hardening. She wasn't surprised that Elliott was combative about getting checked out, in fact she probably should have expected it. The issue was Cordelia making her, especially considering the events that had transpired before the accident. If she wasn't already mad enough at the supreme before, she would be after this.

"She needs medical attention. Frankly, we're surprised she's even in the state she's in." The second officer said, Cordelia looking at him questioningly.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I've never been called to a crash that bad where someone is alive by the time we make it there. The fact that they were even alive when we got there is a miracle, even more so that she was conscious. She's incredibly lucky." The second officer explained.

"The other driver wasn't so lucky, he was already dead when we got there. From the looks of the accident he was driving at a high rate of speed upon impact. They're doing an autopsy and checking for drugs or alcohol, but we need to talk to her to get a statement and figure out the timeline so we can clear up any extraneous issues." The first officer said cautiously, which peaked Cordelia's curiosity.

"Extraneous issues?" She asked, and the officers expressions turned even more grim.

"She didn't call 911, and we don't know how long she was conscious or moving around before someone did call it in. If the other driver didn't die upon impact, or if his death was a result of her not calling, it could raise some issues for her, even if the crash wasn't her friend's fault." One of the officers explained.

"What sort of issues?" Cordelia asked, obviously concerned.

"If it was an accident? She could have manslaughter charges. If they can prove it was on purpose, it could go up as far as second degree murder." The second officer explained, noting how panicked Cordelia's face became, "It's rare that it even happens, we just have to cover all of our bases." Cordelia's panicked face didn't lessen, so the officer finally said, "Get her checked out first, then we'll talk to her once she's ready."

Cordelia nodded and thanked them before going back to sit next to Elliott, looking at Misty to silently ask if the girl had said anything, to which Misty just looked at Elliott sadly and shook her head. Cordelia took a deep breath as she rubbed Elliott's back, she knew this conversation wasn't going to go well. "So you wouldn't let them check you out huh?" Misty's eyes went wide at the revelation, but Elliott just stared straight ahead, not saying anything. "We need to get you checked out." Cordelia said softly, which caused Elliott to shake her head. "You had a concussion a month ago, Elle. This isn't something we can mess around with; you need to get looked at as soon as possible." Cordelia tried again.

"After." Elliott said quietly. Cordelia started to speak as she reached to grab the girls hand, but stopped after making Elliott visibly wince, the young girl pulling her arm away and situating it between her knees and chest protectively.

Cordelia and Misty shared concerned glances before Cordelia spoke, "Elle, did you hurt your arm?" Elliott didn't respond, not that Cordelia expected her to, and the older woman watched Elliott's face harden, bracing for the fight she knew was coming. "Alright, we're getting you checked out. Now." Cordelia said firmly, her mind made up.

Elliott violently shook her head. "No. After." She said sharply, throwing Cordelia a searing glare.

Part of Cordelia just wanted to concede, she was already in enough trouble with the girl, she really didn't need any help. But she had to look out for Elliott's best interest. That was her job as the parent, what she signed up for, but it didn't make it any easier. As much as Elliott seemed decently fine, there could be things going on that she couldn't see, and if something happened to the young witch, Cordelia knew she would never forgive herself. "No, now. It could be hours until we know something, Elle. The sooner we get it over with, the sooner we can be back out here. They'll come to us if there's any updates." Elliott looked like she was about to argue, to say Cordelia couldn't make her, so the supreme continued sharply, "You're doing it, end of discussion. I am your legal guardian, whether you like it or not right now. I can make you, and I'm going to. I'm not letting you kill yourself or get brain damage because you want to be stubborn."

"Please darlin'…" Misty said, soft but pleading. Elliott turned to look at her and Misty could see the fear plastered across her face, as much as she tried to cover it up. She looked straight forward, but didn't say anything. She was angry and she couldn't physically agree, that would just give Cordelia the upper hand, make her think she won, even though she actually did.

Cordelia took Elliott's lack of argument as a yes and walked toward the nurses station, the women nodding then standing up, coming from behind the automatic doors with a wheelchair. Cordelia was confused until Elliott went to stand, stumbling as she did, which only validated Cordelia's decision. The three headed back and the nurses helped Elliott get onto the bed, all of them sitting silently as they waited for a doctor.

"Will they even tell us anythin'?" Misty asked, turning to Elliott, "About David? We ain't technically family."

Cordelia shook her head, she wasn't sure, as Elliott answered quietly, "I'm his emergency contact. They'll tell me."

As shocked as Cordelia was about the revelation, the more she thought about it the more it made sense. David didn't have anyone else, other than maybe some friends, but Elliott was his person. While it was strange that his only emergency contact was a 15 year old who up until a few months ago didn't even have a regular phone number, Cordelia had just settled on the idea that it was just another thing she probably wasn't going to get. What it did make her get was why Elliott was so adamant about not getting checked out. If something happened and Elliott had to be put under, there was no one to tell until she woke up, and by then it would probably be too late.

"Hey, you ready to be looked at now?" The doctor joked as he walked into the room, and Cordelia noticed it was the same doctor Elliott had the last time she was in the emergency room, and the same one who had given Cordelia stitches.

Elliott didn't respond to his question, just asked one of her own, "Do you know how David is?"

"I don't, they are still working on him from what I've seen. But once they finish and get him in to run some tests I'll have them update you, ok?" Elliott nodded, begrudgingly accepting the answer before the doctor turned the focus to her. "Alright, let's focus on you, tell me what hurts." Elliott threw him a half glare, letting him know she wasn't exactly doing this willingly, so he tried to reason with her, "The quicker we get through this and you be honest with me, the sooner we can let you go, ok? I know you are worried about him, but you telling me what's wrong will let me know where to look so I'm not just guessing."

Elliott hesitated for a moment before she finally responded, "I probably have another concussion, my arms broken, probably so are my ribs, and the cut on my head needs stitches."

The doctor was visibly shocked at Elliott's forwardness and apparent knowledge, but he quickly recovered as he remembered Elliott's previous circumstances. Cordelia, however, did not, and she stared at Elliott wide eyed as she realized that Elliott was probably very familiar with these injuries, which only made her heart sink. "Ok," The doctor began, "Well I'm most concerned about the concussion, especially considering you've had two so close together, so we'll start there. What makes you think you have one?"

"My head hurts, I'm dizzy, my vision is blurry, light sensitivity, and my ears are ringing." Elliott said, remembering the questions he asked the previous time.

"Can you remember what happened?" The doctor asked, flicking his penlight between her eyes as she winced.

"Yes." She answered, but didn't go into detail.

"Did you pass out?" The doctor asked.

"Yea." Elliott responded.

"Ok, it doesn't appear that the concussion is as serious this time, but with you having them so close together I want to get a CT scan just to make sure we aren't missing anything." The doctor said, moving to check out Elliott's arm. He tried to life the sleeve of Elliott's hoodie up above her elbow to give him some access, but her arm was too swelled up. Elliott took control of the situation then and unzipped her hoodie, wiggling out of it with her good arm first, then tugging it down the other, revealing the bruise from the seatbelt as well as her very purple arm. Cordelia let out an audible gasp at the sight of it, wondering how she hadn't noticed the injury earlier. "Ok, well I don't want to mess with your arm too much, it looks like it will have to be set and casted here. Let's take a look at your ribs." Elliott stood and leaned up against the bed once she wobbled a bit, reaching for her shirt to pull it up, revealing a giant dark red bruise that covered almost her entire torso. Misty and Cordelia's eyes went wide at the sight, but the doctor just looked concerned and a little confused. He probed at her ribs a little bit, feeling her tense up but not visibly flinch. "Alright, they don't feel broken, but they could still be fractured so we'll x-ray them anyways. I'm more concerned about that bruise, we'll run some tests and make sure there's nothing going on there, but in the meantime I'll stitch you up and get you some pain medicine, ok?"

"I don't need pain medicine." Elliott said quietly, shaking her head.

"Are you sure? Once the adrenaline wears off you are going to be in some pretty serious pain…" The doctor said, watching as Cordelia got a confused look on her face.

"If I need it I'll let you know." Elliott responded firmly.

"Ok, I'll go order those tests, then we'll work on your stitches." The doctor said calmly, getting up and walking out of the room, Cordelia trailing behind him. "Bed three needs a head CT, an MRI of the abdomen, and x-rays of the chest and right forearm." He said to the nurses at the station, turning when he noticed the supreme's presence.

"So you just believe what a 15-year-old is telling you? What if there's something else wrong? She doesn't know everything." Cordelia said a bit harshly, but the doctor knew she was just worried, he could see it in her eyes.

"No, but she didn't want to be looked at in the first place. I had to give her something to make her cooperate." The doctor responded calmly, catching a glare from Cordelia. "The last thing she wants right now is for me to poke and prod her looking for things that aren't there. With crashes like that our main concern is a broken neck and internal bleeding. If she broke her neck it would be obvious because she wouldn't be able to move her head, she obviously didn't break her legs because she could stand, and the CT and MRI will cover any possible internal bleeding. Believe me, I'm still covering my bases. You might want to try and convince her to take the medication though, with those injuries I have no idea how she's not screaming in pain."

"Can I make her take them?" Cordelia asked.

"Technically, yes. You have legal guardianship which gives you the power to rule on her medical decisions, but considering how giving her medicine went over last time it isn't a good idea. There is obviously some trauma behind it and the last thing you want is to force her, even if it's in her best interest. If it hurts bad enough she'll ask, trust me." The doctor answered.

"Does she have to be put under for anything?" Cordelia asked, the doctor looking at her confused, "She's David's emergency contact, she's not going to let anyone do anything to her that she isn't awake for as long as he's being worked on."

The doctor nodded in understanding, "Depending on how bad her arm is they might want to put her under to reset it, but if she really wants to stay awake bad enough they'll just give her some strong pain medication and do it while she's awake." Cordelia looked unsure but nodded anyways, so the doctor continued, "If it really comes down to it she can tell the doctor working on him that it's ok to talk with you about his condition and that its ok for you to approve any procedures if he's unconscious. She's technically his power of attorney during this, and if he's awake he can tell the doctor himself. She might still refuse to be put under but it's worth a shot."

Cordelia thanked him then walked back into the room as he went to talk with the other doctor. Elliott was sitting on the bed with her legs crossed underneath her, staring at the floor. "Everythin' ok?" Misty asked.

"Yea, he's going to talk to the other doctor now, then he'll be back." Cordelia said, shifting her weight from one leg to the other, trying to decide if she should go sit back in her chair or join Elliott on the bed. She knew the young girl wasn't a fan of hospitals, but at that moment she wasn't really a fan of Cordelia either, so the supreme decided to sit in her own chair until Elliott asked for her. "Elle," She began as she sat down, "You really need to consider taking those pain meds, it's only going to get worse."

"I'm fine." Elliott said softly, not looking up. She wasn't fine, her whole body was screaming, but it wasn't the worst pain she'd ever been in.

"Elle, do it for my own sanity. Please?" Cordelia tried again.

"If I take them they'll just make me sleepy and that's literally the last thing I want right now." Elliott said sharply. Honestly the last thing she cared about right then was Cordelia's sanity.

The room was silent for a few moments, it was blaringly obvious that Elliott was just going to be combative all night, not that anyone blamed her, but it didn't make any of this easier on the rest of them. They all were scared about David, and Elliott was acting like she was completely alone in this. "I need you to tell David's doctor that he can talk to me in case something happens and you need to be put under." Cordelia said softly.

"I won't be put under." Elliott said forcefully.

"You might need to be. We don't know what's actually going on with you, you could need surgery." Cordelia said, trying to reason with the young witch.

"It will wait." Elliott responded, proving just how stubborn she really was.

"Not if it's life threatening it won't. You already refused medical attention for god knows how long. Just because you feel ok doesn't mean you are ok, Elle." Cordelia said, which just earned her a glare from Elliott. Cordelia didn't get it; this was Elliott's job. It was her responsibility, not anyone else's. She promised David she would be there for him in case anything happened, and her being adopted wasn't going to change that, it had already changed too much. "It's better to get it settled in case something does happen, that way someone can make the decisions in case you can't." Elliott didn't respond, she wasn't going to argue with Cordelia, it wasn't going to change her mind either way. "You know that if you keep being stubborn and something does happen to you that David is going to be pissed, right? He wouldn't want you to be acting this way, he would want you to do whatever you had to do to be ok."

Elliott's eyes filled with tears at that remark, it was a low blow, but Cordelia was also right, and Elliott knew it. There wasn't a lot in this world that would make David angry at her, but her neglecting her own health for him was definitely one of them. He would be furious, but Elliott couldn't give this small thing up. Cordelia coming into her life had already shifted everything completely, this was the last part of Elliott's life that Cordelia couldn't touch. She knew she was being insane, going back to her old habits of shutting everyone out, but old habits die hard.

It's not like Cordelia would actually let her refuse surgery, Elliott knew that, and if it really came down to it and she was forced into it she would let Cordelia call the shots, but at that point it would at least be her choice, not like right now where the supreme was basically backing her into a corner and using whatever leverage she could. God, when had she let Cordelia completely take over her life? This was exactly what she was worried about when Cordelia asked to adopt her, and in that moment Elliott was really wishing she said no.

"You do realize you fighting me on this because you are mad at me is completely insane, right?" Cordelia said harshly, drawing Elliott out of her thoughts and pissing her off completely. Of course Cordelia thought this had to do with her, everything has to do with her.

"It's not about you." Elliott said just as harshly as the curtain ruffled, drawing everyone's attention to it as another doctor walked in.

"Sorry, can I have you ladies step outside while I talk to Elliott?" The doctor politely asked, Cordelia looking over to Elliott, hoping she would tell him they could stay, but she just stared straight ahead.

Misty was the first to stand, taking an obviously frustrated Cordelia and leading her out of the room and down the hallway. "Dee, ya gotta calm down." Misty said softly, Cordelia staring back at her like she was insane.

"I'm not going to calm down. How can she be so reckless? All of this because she's mad at me? She's going to get somebody killed, Misty." Cordelia spat.

"She said it wasn't about ya, Dee." Misty said.

"What else could it be about? Are you really siding with her?" Cordelia asked, stunned.

"I'm not sidin' with her, she should let ya, but I get where she's comin' from." Misty explained.

"She hasn't said where she's coming from, she just keeps saying no, no matter what I say." Cordelia said, her voice losing its edge and sounding more upset than angry.

"It's not about ya, ya are just the one she can be mad at. It's about control, which she doesn't have a lot of right now." Misty said, which just made the supreme once again look at her like she was crazy. "She couldn't control the accident, she can't control what's happenin' with David, at least not ta the degree she wants ta. She could control getting' checked out until ya pulled the parent card and forced her. She knows that if somethin' happens and she needs ta be put under ya will make her. She's terrified, Dee, and she's graspin for anythin' ta ground her. She's not thinkin' rationally because nothin' about this is rational, not for her."

"And she's taking it out on me? I'm just trying to help." Cordelia responded.

"But she doesn't get that. Right now what she sees is ya tryin' ta take over. As much as she tries to pretend she's still not used ta someone carin' about her and wantin' ta help her, she just sees it as ya tryin' ta control her." Misty explained, Cordelia begrudgingly nodding her head. Cordelia noticed the doctor peek his head around the curtain and motion for her, so she grabbed Misty's hand and walked the two back to the room, stepping behind the curtain.

The doctor looked toward Elliott for confirmation before speaking, her making eye contact with him and nodding slightly as Cordelia let out a breath of relief. "Ok, so Elliott has told me she wants to allocate her power of attorney to you, so I wanted to fill you in on what's happening. He's stable for now, so we're going to take him in for some x-rays and things to make sure we know what's going on. Nothing we are seeing right now appears to be fatal, which is a good thing, but we do know he will probably have some pretty serious broken bones and will need skin grafts from the road rash, but we'll know more after the scans are done."

Cordelia thanked him and he left the room, promising more updates as he knew them. Once the other doctor left Elliott's doctor entered the room with a suture kit in hand. "Ready for drugs yet?" He asked jokingly, not surprised when Elliott shook her head. Elliott was exhausted and you could tell, but the pain kept her alert, and that's what she needed right now. "Ok, well I'm going to take a look and numb you up first, then we'll get cracking."

The doctor pulled back the gauze to reveal an inch and a half long gash that was pretty deep, deep enough to make Cordelia queasy from looking at it. The doctor grimaced a bit but reached for a syringe of lidocaine, which made Elliott's eyes go wide once he pulled off the cap. "You ok?" He asked, knowing Elliott's aversion and eyeing the other women, who were waiting to see how Elliott reacted before jumping in. Elliott nodded so the doctor asked, "You sure?" which caused her to nod once again. "Ok. Stay still for me, alright?" Elliott sucked in a breath and held it as the doctor numbed everything, training her eyes on the opposite direction of him. "Alright, hard part's over. Now we just need to stitch it up." Elliott kept her face neutral as the doctor worked, stitches weren't a big deal for her, it was the shot beforehand that had gotten her worked up, although she tried her best to hide it.

While on the outside she only seemed a little worried, inside her stomach was rolling and she could physically feel her blood pumping once again. She wanted to keep herself in check while the doctor was working, so she tried to just breathe through it, but every time the doctor went to do another suture it felt like every nerve in her body was on sensory overload. Her skin was absolutely crawling, but she pushed it away and just tried to numb herself out.

That didn't help either, because by numbing herself out she trapped herself in her own head, and that was probably the most dangerous place for her at the moment, but she couldn't help herself, she just kept thinking about all the chaos she caused for everyone around her. As much as she tried to stay out of trouble, somehow she had become the catalyst for every destructive thing that had happened. Truly, she felt bad for everyone, having to deal with her mess. They didn't deserve the pain or the stress, they didn't deserve her.

Elliott should have known her own recklessness would end up hurting someone, it was only a matter of time. She destroyed everything and everyone around her, she always had. She was a black hole disguised as the milky way, luring people in then swallowing them whole. She shouldn't have let anyone get attached to her, trapped by her, she knew better.

Poor Cordelia, having to deal with all of this. She was the one Elliott hurt the most, the one who had to deal with all the hospital visits, all the bruises, all the meltdowns, everything. Each time something happened Elliott would somehow always convince her that it was her fault, even if she didn't mean to. It wasn't her fault, she had no idea what she was getting into, that her child would be this chaotic, this evil. Somehow she still tried to keep Elliott on the right path, make her believe that something good could come out of her warpath of a life. Sometimes Elliott wondered if she regretted coming to find her, regretted loving her, because it was obvious Elliott didn't deserve that love, she didn't deserve anything. Elliott just wished the supreme would finally give up on her, it would be easier for all of them.

When Elliott refocused once again she realized she was in a machine. How did I get all the way here? Obviously they were doing her scans, but she didn't even remember any of it happening, the last thing she remembered was the doctor stitching her up. But somehow in her daze she must have managed to seem somewhat alert, somewhat functioning, because otherwise she wouldn't have even gotten here. Someone told her over the intercom to keep still, so she did, letting her mind wander once again.

Frankly, she wasn't even upset that Cordelia yelled at her, she had deserved it long before then, this was just the final straw. Cordelia was tired of her, Elliott could see it, could feel it, and as much as David tried to tell her she wasn't right, that Cordelia still wanted her, she knew it wasn't true. No one could want her after all she put Cordelia through, it just wasn't possible. What Cordelia felt toward her was obligation, not want. No one would want to deal with her, all her messes, all her damage. Elliott had trapped her in a room with no way out, she knew Elliott's fear about getting sent away, and the supreme had a kind heart, no way would she ever reinstate that fear. So Cordelia had to keep her, regardless of if she wanted to or not, she had to keep her word.

Elliott couldn't even think about all the trouble she had caused David over the years. He never turned his back on her, no matter what crazy things she did. He was good and kind and he ended up half dead on the cement because of her, because he was trying to make her feel better. She never should have bothered him, asked him to take her somewhere else, she should have hidden in her room and kept her mouth shut, then none of this would have happened. The best thing Elliott could do was leave them all alone, go somewhere far away and finally give them some peace, but she was selfish.

"Elle?" Cordelia said, once again forcing Elliott to refocus. She was back in her room, and she once again couldn't remember how she had gotten there. She looked up to meet Cordelia's gaze so the older woman continued, "The cops need to ask you some questions about what happened, is that ok?"

Of course they wanted to ask her questions, Elliott knew it was only a matter of time. She really wasn't in any mood to talk about it, but pushing it off wasn't going to make it any easier, so she nodded, looking over at the police who were standing in the corner. "Ok Elliott, we need you to tell us what happened. Just start from the beginning and if we need more details or information we'll ask for it, ok?"

"Um, ok. We went out to get ice cream and were driving back. We pulled up to the light and it was red so we waited until it turned green, and when it did David went to go, and I guess the other driver ran the light and smashed into us." Elliott said quietly.

"And David wasn't wearing his seatbelt on the drive back?" The officer asked, which made Cordelia's eyes go wide.

"No he was. When we stopped at the light he put the car in park and unbuckled it to grab a hat from the backseat. He gave it to me and the light turned green so he started to go as he was trying to buckle it. Then we got hit." Elliott said honestly.

"Did you see the car?" The other officer asked.

"I saw the headlights and yelled for David to watch out, but it was too late." Elliott responded.

"What happened after that?" The first officer asked, the second officer furiously scribbling notes.

"I passed out. When I woke up I was disoriented, obviously. Once I remembered what happened I looked for David, but he wasn't in the car." Elliott said, her voice getting higher in pitch as she recalled it all.

"Do you know how long you passed out for?" The first officer asked.

"No." Elliott responded.

"Ok, what happened then? Did you try to get out of the car?" The first officer asked.

Elliott nodded, "I tried to open the door but it was stuck. I didn't want to climb out of the window because there was still glass pieces there, so I kicked it until it opened."

"How long did that take? If you had to guess." The officer asked.

"A few minutes? I had to kick at it for a while." Elliott answered.

"Ok, and what happened once you opened the door?" The officer asked.

"I crawled out, I couldn't really walk. I couldn't find my phone, but I wanted to find David first, so I went looking for him. I found him on the ground in front of the car, he was face down." Elliott said, "I went over to him and flipped him over and tried to wake him up, but he wasn't moving. I tried to find a pulse but I couldn't, so I tried to see if he was breathing."

"Was he?" The officer asked.

Elliott shook her head, "Not that I could see. I panicked, I didn't know what to do, but then a car pulled up and called 911 and I felt David move a little bit and when I looked down he was trying to open his eyes, then I heard the ambulances."

"And you didn't check on the other driver at all?" The officer asked carefully, and Elliott noticed Cordelia got a panicked look on her face.

"I didn't have time to, it all happened really fast." Elliott said honestly.

"Ok, from the time you woke up until the other driver pulled up, how much time do you think it was?" The officer asked.

"I don't know." Elliott said.

"Just give me an estimate. It doesn't have to be perfect, I know there was a lot going on." The officer tried again.

Elliott sat quiet for a minute, trying to calculate the timeframe. It was hard when she didn't even know what time anything happened. "Maybe 10 to 12 minutes?12 if you include the time it took for me to wake up and realize what was happening."

"Ok, so the driver called in the accident at 11:02, do you remember what time it was before the accident happened?" The officer asked.

"Um, the last time I looked at the clock it was around 10:30, but that was a few minutes before everything happened." Elliott responded.

"And you couldn't find your phone? It wasn't on you?" The officer asked.

"No, I had it out and was looking at it right before the crash, so it must have gotten flung somewhere." Elliott said honestly.

"How long after you found David did the other car pull up?" The officer asked.

"Maybe a minute? Two minutes? Somewhere in between there." Elliott said softly. She didn't like how this conversation was going, it felt more like an interrogation.

Cordelia could see the distress on Elliott's face and moved to step in, but the first officer saw it coming and held up his hand. "Just one last question. You guys just went to get ice cream, right? There wasn't any drinking that had happened that day or drug use?" Elliott shook her head no, "Ok, well that's it. We'll be in touch in case anything else comes up."

The officers made their exit, and Elliott's anxiety spiked, she knew their questions meant something, that there was something she wasn't being told, and that just made everything worse. Her anxiety combined with the pain she continued to feel made her stomach rocky, so when Cordelia stood up and went to hand her a water bottle, she refused. "Elle, you haven't eaten or drank anything in over four hours. You need to drink it." Cordelia said sternly.

"My stomach's upset." Elliott said quietly. She really felt like she was about to be sick.

"I know it is, but you have to take care of yourself." Cordelia tried again, only for Elliott's face to go pale, her moving to get off the bed as Misty jumped up and grabbed the nearest trash can, sticking it under Elliott's chin just as she started to heave. "Oh! Ok, it's ok. Just breathe." Cordelia said as she rubbed Elliott's back. The supreme threw a worried glance at Misty, who just stared back at her wide eyed as she shook her head.

Cordelia had discovered that night that not only could she feel Elliott's emotions, she could feel her pain too, which just made everything that much harder. She knew what she was feeling couldn't even be half of what Elliott was feeling, given what the doctor had told her, but what before was a prominent ache was now sharp stabbing pains shooting throughout her whole body with every cough Elliott made, and it was enough to make Cordelia physically wince.

When the girl was finally done coughing Misty pulled the trash can away, setting it on the ground next to the bed, just in case it happened again. Elliott looked absolutely drained, wiping away the tears from her eyes as she looked up. "Mama?" She asked softly, looking at Cordelia, who just stared back with wide eyes, "Can I have the water?"

"Yea baby girl, here you go." Cordelia said, reaching behind her to grab the bottle and hand it to her. Elliott drank a little bit then handed it back, resting her good arm on her knee and pinching the bridge of her nose. "You need to try and get some sleep, baby." Cordelia said softly, not surprised when Elliott shook her head no.

"I need to stay up, David's doctor will probably be back soon with an update." Elliott said.

"Babe he's not going to be back for a while, he just took him into surgery." Cordelia responded, Elliott looking back at her confused, "He gave us an update right before they went in, he left right before the police questioned you. Don't you remember?"

She didn't remember, but she knew if she told Cordelia that it would just make her more worried, so she relaxed her face and rubbed at her eyes, "Oh, yea. Sorry."

"It's ok, it's been a long night." Cordelia said, "Do you think you want something for the pain yet?"

Elliott paused before answering, she really probably should take something, but she didn't want to risk missing anything else. Just give up control. There's nothing you can do anyways. You're just making it harder for everyone else. She looked at Cordelia and could see the pain written on her face, the worry in her eyes, and she finally caved. She couldn't fix this, couldn't deal with it by herself. She needed help. She slowly nodded and she saw the relief flood Cordelia's features before she ran out to get a nurse, coming back shortly after with two pills in a little cup. Elliott took them without fussing and drank some water that Cordelia handed to her.

Cordelia grabbed the bottle back then moved to sit back down, only for Elliott to reach out for her. Cordelia looked over at her and it was like she could physically see the young girls walls coming down, her face scared and vunerable. Cordelia gave her a sad smile then climbed onto the bed with her, leaning back and gently pulling Elliott with her. Elliott didn't resist, settling into her, and Cordelia dropped a few kisses on her head to reassure her. She could see the young witch desperately trying to fight off sleep, her eyes blinking rapidly. "Just try to get some rest baby girl, I'll wake you up if anything happens, ok? You need sleep." Cordelia said softly, Elliott nodding into her before shutting her eyes.

The two sat like that for almost an hour until Elliott's doctor came back into the room, looking a little concerned. Cordelia's eyebrows creased and she moved to wake the girl up, only for the doctor to shake his head. "Don't wake her up, it's fine. I can just talk to you and you can tell her later."

Cordelia pulled away from Elliott as carefully as she could to not disturb her, Elliott just relaxing back onto the bed as Cordelia stood up. "Is everything ok?" She asked.

"Uh, yes, well sort of. Her results were just a little… strange?" The doctor answered, noticing Cordelia's panicked expression, "You'll understand in a minute. Her ribs are fractured, but they aren't broken, which is good. Her arm is a pretty severe break, it borderlined on an open fracture so it will have to be set. She doesn't have to be put under for it, but she will be in some significant pain during it. Her CT scan looks good, she does have a concussion but there wasn't any bleeding or anything, and her MRI didn't show any ongoing internal bleeding, but it did show there was bleeding, and we aren't exactly sure how it stopped. It almost looks like it stopped itself, which is rare but it happens. The weird part is we can't figure out where the bleeding came from, which normally we can tell based on where it clotted. It's almost like it completely healed itself." Cordelia's panicked face lessened, but the doctor's didn't, which confused her. Wasn't that a good thing? "I ended up ordering a neck x-ray, just to be safe, and that's the really weird one." He said as he pulled up the x-ray on a computer screen. "See that?" He said, pointing to a small area of bright white with dark grey surrounding it, "That's remodeling, along with spinal fluid surrounding it. The spinal fluid means she broke her neck and severed the spinal cord recently, but the remodeling means it's an old break, but she had the same x-ray when she was here a month ago and it wasn't there. I thought maybe it was just bad imaging, but if you look at David's x-rays, he has the same thing." He said, pulling up another x-ray and putting it side by side, "That break alone is fatal, especially with severing the spinal cord. If it was the accident that caused it, they should both be dead. But with the remodeling on both of them it dates the break to months ago, it should have showed up on her previous scan."

"So what does that mean?" Cordelia asked, confused.

"I don't know. There's no sign of a spinal cord tear and with the fluid that's there, there should be. But there's absolutely no reason why those breaks would be there and they would still be alive. I guess it's just luck, or some sort of medical miracle." The doctor answered, still staring at the screen, perplexed. He quickly snapped out of his trance and turned back to the older witch. "But once we get the break set and casted she should be ok to go home, we'll give her a script for pain meds to help with that. We have to call ortho to do it so it might take a while, but it already looks like you'll be here all night."

Cordelia nodded and thanked him as he walked out, turning back to Misty with a confused expression. None of this made sense. How could she have a break, a fatal break, that was brand new yet months old? And David had the same one? It obviously had to be from the accident, but how? It had to be magic, Elliott's magic, there was no other way, but resurgence couldn't heal past wounds, only vitum vitalis could, and you couldn't do it to yourself. Cordelia thought back to what Angela had said to her, the first instance that made her believe Elliott could even possibly do this. Elliott had mentioned she didn't think David was breathing, but she would know if she brought him back to life, right? Cordelia could tell Misty was thinking the same thing, but she just offered the older woman a shrug. Obviously they couldn't figure it out right then, so it just had to be put on the back burner, at least until they knew David was ok.

Cordelia crawled back into bed with Elliott, smiling a little when Elliott reached for her and curled up against her in her sleep. She had called her mama, and she was actually aware she was doing it too. Sure, she might have been completely exhausted, but she still knew she did it, Cordelia could tell from the look on her face. She didn't want to freak Elliott out earlier when she said it, but inside she was jumping up and down. She thought that night would be a huge setback, but it actually seemed like a breakthrough. It did make Cordelia feel even more guilty about what had transpired earlier, Elliott had trusted her so completely and there she was practically screaming at her, but Cordelia promised herself she would never let that happen again, and she would spend the next few days profusely apologizing for it.

Cordelia turned to look at Misty and Misty could see how tired she was, "Get some rest darlin', I'll stay up for a while and wake ya if they have news. We can do it in shifts. No use in all of us bein' worn down." Cordelia moved to argue, after all she had promised Elliott she would stay up and wake her, but Misty just threw her a look, so she closed her mouth and nodded softly, closing her eyes.

It was another two hours before the doctor came in to set and cast Elliott's arm. Misty woke Cordelia first, then let Cordelia wake Elliott up, although that wasn't an easy task. Once the young girl was more alert, the doctor started prepping her, "Ok, I'm going to warn you, this will hurt, a lot. But you can scream as loud as you want and have someone hold your hand through it, and it will all be over pretty quickly, then we can cast you and get you out of here, ok?"

Elliott nodded, she had bones set before, she knew how it worked, and how much it hurt. Cordelia went to move to her good side and grab her hand, but Elliott just shook her head, with how much pain she was going to be in she didn't want to risk squeezing the supreme's hand too tight and hurting her. Cordelia looked hurt for a moment, so Elliott said something, "It's not a good idea, trust me. I've done this before."

That made Cordelia's stomach knot, but she understood, somewhat. It just wasn't easy hearing of all the horrible things Elliott had to deal with before. She nodded and instead went to stand in front of the chairs, but still out of the way as the doctor moved towards Elliott's side. "Ok, we're going to go on the count of three, alright? 1, 2, 3!"

The doctor pressed down on Elliott's arm and she grabbed at the sheets, her knuckles turning white as she let out a blood curdling scream. Cordelia first realized exactly why Elliott didn't want her to hold her hand and then felt the pain, a blinding, white hot pain shoot through her entire body until the doctor stopped. She hadn't even thought about the fact that she could feel it too, and it was strong enough to make her feel dizzy, grabbing for the arm of the chair as she fell down into it. Standing wasn't a good idea, at all. Misty looked over at her concerned and Cordelia waved her off before she turned her gaze back to Elliott. "Ok, we have to go one more time, on the count of three. Ready? 1, 2, 3!" Elliott screamed again and Cordelia's whole body tensed up as she felt that pain all over again, to the point she thought she might pass out. She closed her eyes and tried to breathe through it, but Misty noticed her once again. God, it was worse than labor.

The screams stopped and Cordelia slowly felt the pain leave her body, righting herself and opening her eyes to the sound of Elliott obviously crying. She quickly moved to Elliott's opposite side as the doctor said they were finished, moving towards the various casting materials he brought with him. "Hey baby, it's ok, it's over. You did so well." She said as she ran her fingers through her daughter's hair and kissing her forehead.

"Mama it hurts." Elliott cried quietly.

"I know. I know baby." Cordelia soothed, pulling the girl up into a hug as Elliott reached for her, careful to not shift her other arm too much.

She sat and held Elliott until she calmed down, trying her best to soothe her cries. Once the young girl was done the doctor walked back towards her, Cordelia wiping the tears from her cheeks. "Ok kid, the worst is over, now's the sort of fun part. What color do you want?" The doctor asked.

"Black." Elliott responded, making Cordelia laugh. She really was Fiona's grandchild. "What?"

"Nothing." Cordelia said, smiling a little.

"Black huh? You don't want anyone to sign it?" The doctor asked jokingly.

Elliott looked confused, "Why would I want anyone to sign it?"

The doctor just laughed, "Alright, I like it."

Elliott's arm was casted and she was officially discharged, Cordelia walking down to the hospital pharmacy to fill it while Misty and Elliott got seated back in the waiting room. They still hadn't heard anything about David, other than he was out of surgery and getting some other things fixed and casted. Cordelia eventually returned with a bottle of pills in her purse, and immediately sat down and pulled Elliott into her lap, the girl falling asleep almost instantly as the supreme played with her hair. It was almost six am, and everyone was exhausted, emotionally and physically.

Cordelia tried to get Misty to sleep, even a little, but the swamp witch argued that she wasn't even tired, even though Cordelia could tell she absolutely was. "Hey Dee, were ya ok in there? Ya looked like ya were about ta pass out when Elle got her arm set."

Cordelia slightly laughed, which only made Misty confused, "Uh, I guess no? I found out the hard way that not only can I feel her emotions, I can also feel her pain. It was killing me all night."

"Ya can feel her pain? I didn't know ya could do that." Misty said, stunned.

"Neither did I. I can't feel it fully, earlier it was just a dull ache, like a migraine. But when she was throwing up it was like I was being stabbed throughout my whole body, and when they set her arm I thought for sure I was going to pass out, so I can only imagine how she felt." Cordelia said sadly, looking down at Elliott and tracing her hand down the young witches back.

"Do ya think she brought David back?" Misty asked.

"She had to of, it's the only thing that makes sense." Cordelia said.

"Why didn't she tell us she could do that?" Misty asked, "She had ta know, right?"

"I don't think she did. I had a hunch she could do it, Angela told me a weird story when we were at the party about her doing something similar with Cora, but I don't think she realized she actually did something. You have to have intention, but if her intention was directed at something else then maybe she could do it without realizing it." Cordelia began, "She told me when everything happened with Cora she prayed, even though she isn't religious. That could have been it."

Misty just nodded, seeming to accept the answer. She started dozing off a few minutes later, resting her head on Cordelia's shoulder, which the older witch didn't mind. Despite everything that happened, the supreme was weirdly at peace. As chaotic as the night had been, Cordelia knew somehow things would be ok. David was stable, Elliott was ok, as magic as it was. They all were alive, and while they had some things to work on and a long road ahead, she was content. She let her mind wander for a few hours until the doctor approached her, her waking up Misty as Elliott rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "He's all set, you can see him now."


	33. Chapter 33

Elliott spent the next few days practically glued to David's bedside, despite Cordelia's protests that she needed to be in class. The supreme wasn't pushing her too hard however, she knew if she forced the young girl to return to her classes she wouldn't pay attention anyways, and she ended up striking a deal that Elliott could stay throughout the day if she promised to study and keep up on her schoolwork while she was there, which the girl happily agreed to. So, Cordelia would drop her off in the late morning before her classes began, then would drive back after her classes were done to visit with David and take Elliott home. Then, she would eat dinner and do homework before going to sleep. Cordelia had been making Elliott sleep in her room, although the supreme wasn't exactly sure if it was to help Elle or help her, in the aftermath of the accident Cordelia had found herself to be particularly edgy anytime Elliott was out of her sight, even when she was at the hospital. It didn't help that the girl was without a phone, her previous one being completely shattered from the accident.

Cordelia couldn't wrap her mind around why she felt so…weird. Maybe it was because Elliott seemed so distant? Scratch that, she wasn't distant, just busy. The two had never really discussed the incident that had happened before the accident, not that there was really any time to, the only real time alone the two had was when Cordelia was driving her to the hospital in the morning, and that wasn't a good time to bring it up. While Elliott was handling everything much better than Cordelia thought she would, she still had issues with being in the car, her eyes always darting around rapidly looking for any signs of danger. One morning another car had cut Cordelia off and she was almost positive Elliott's head was about to explode based on how wide her eyes got.

Honestly, it would make Cordelia feel better if Elliott was mad at her, she deserved it. But Elliott was acting just fine, and that made the supreme feel even worse. Cordelia saw the look on her face, the hurt, and Elliott was just able to brush it off like it didn't matter? Like her pain didn't matter? The supreme knew it probably was what the girl was used to, but Cordelia swore she wouldn't be anything like Elliott's foster parents. She needed to apologize, to promise her that she would do better, but as the days dragged on the more useless the apology seemed, and the harder it was to do.

As much as Elliott seemed to act fine, Cordelia had noticed a change in her, she wasn't her usual self. Elliott was always chaotic, but in a good way. She was loud and full of jokes and loved to tease, but that had all disappeared. In a way, she had almost become too easy. She never argued anymore, about anything, she just went along with whatever Cordelia said. Normally convincing Elliott to stay with her would be a battle, she always was fiercely independent, but this time she just went along with it easily, even though she wasn't struggling like the previous times. In some strange way, Cordelia missed the banter, she missed Elliott's jokes and teasing and prodding, she missed her.

It hadn't gone unnoticed that since that night Elliott had avoided hanging around whenever Misty and Cordelia were together. The previous night she had wandered down to the kitchen to find the two of them, then quickly got what she wanted and disappeared, which absolutely never happened, she always hung around and talked with them about whatever. Cordelia knew that was completely her doing, she recognized the change because it was exactly what she used to do to try and please Fiona, although it never worked, and she cursed herself for being like her mother once again.

The two were in the car on the way home one night when Cordelia brought up what she figured would be a touchy subject, Elliott's therapy. Elliott had been adamant that she didn't need it, flat out refusing every time Cordelia even danced around the subject, but after everything that happened Cordelia knew she had to try and convince her to go back. "Elle?" she began, breaking the silence of the ride.

"Hm?" Elliott responded, her eyes still glancing around.

"How would you feel about going back to therapy?" Cordelia asked, trying to leave the question as open ended as possible.

She watched Elliott tense up a little bit and stay silent for a few moments before nodding her head, "Ok." Cordelia turned and looked at her, a little stunned and kind of sad, but Elliott was quick to call her out, "Eyes on the road!"

Cordelia turned her attention back to the road and the car fell silent once again. She knew Elliott's agreement should have made her happy, but it didn't, it just made her even more upset. It was obvious Elliott didn't want to do it and that she gave in just to avoid an argument. Cordelia wanted her to fight back, to make a sarcastic comment, to do something. Most parents dreamed about having an easy child, but Cordelia loved that Elliott was difficult, that she was strong willed and witty and that she pushed the supreme, even if she made her go grey early and stay up late at night worrying. That was her kid.

"Misty wants to go to the swamp again this weekend." Cordelia tried again, hoping to get even just a tiny glimpse of the old Elliott, "Do you want to go with her?"

"No, I'm ok. I have homework to do." Elliott said offhandedly, making the older witches heart sink. This really wasn't her child.

The two arrived home and sat down for dinner, Cordelia choosing to eat quietly. She couldn't let this go on, not any longer, she didn't think she could bear it. While she loved that Elliott cared, she couldn't stand back and watch the girl push away parts of herself just to make Cordelia's life easier, it just wasn't right. Elliott shouldn't have to change herself for her, and it broke Cordelia's heart to know that she thought she did.

After dinner Cordelia went up to her office to try and figure out exactly what she was going to say. If asking Elliott about the adoption was any indicator, Cordelia wasn't exactly good at thinking on her feet. She didn't want to word vomit and make Elliott feel like what she was saying was just to make herself feel better, she wanted Elliott to know she really meant it. She beat herself up for a while for letting it get as far as she did, for losing her cool, before she realized that it wasn't really going to accomplish anything, and then decided to just act on it before she lost her nerve, heading downstairs to find the girl.

Elliott was, of course, at the kitchen counter working on homework, it's where she had been every night. Luckily for Cordelia, downstairs was pretty much empty, most girls already settled into their rooms for the night, so it wasn't like she had to worry about others overhearing the conversation. Elliott noticed the supreme's presence and looked up, offering a small smile, "Hey."

"Hey kiddo, whatcha working on?" Cordelia asked, moving towards the counter.

"History" Elliott answered, throwing the older woman a slight smirk.

"And I'm assuming you don't need my help?" Cordelia joked, Elliott laughing slightly as she shook her head, "Hey, why don't you take a break, relax a little?"

"No I can finish this, it's sorta my end of the deal." Elliott said, staring at her paper and scribbling something.

Cordelia sucked in a large breath, then let it out, "Take a break, Elle. You can finish it tomorrow."

Elliott looked up at the older woman, obviously confused, but nodded and set down her pen anyways. It was obvious the supreme was nervous about something, "Ok. What's up?"

Suddenly, Cordelia lost all of her nerve, choking on her own words, "Um, we need to talk… about what happened before you went out the other night."

Elliott glanced away from her and shook her head, picking up her pen once again. "We don't have to talk about it, it's fine." She said calmly, refocusing on her homework.

"No, it's not fine, none of that was fine." Cordelia said, walking over and sitting next to the girl as she made the young witch put down her pen once again, turning Elliott to face her. "I shouldn't have acted like that, talked to you like that. It isn't ok, under any circumstances, you don't deserve that."

"You have a right to be mad at me. Really, it's ok, it happens." Elliott said honestly.

"No, Elle, I wasn't mad at you, not at all. I was mad about a million other things and I took it out on you, and that's not ok. I didn't mean it." Cordelia said, shaking her head. Why wasn't Elliott furious with her? Did she really think Cordelia was actually mad at her?

"No, you were right. I need to stop butting in, it's not my place." Elliott said, and for some reason Cordelia thought that last part was something the young girl had heard constantly throughout her life, which only made her more upset and worked up.

"You aren't butting in. God, Elle, I love how passionate you are, how much you care. You aren't butting in, I promise." Cordelia said loudly, causing Elliott to look at her very confused and a little worried. She didn't understand, Cordelia literally told her, YELLED AT HER, that she needed to stay out of it. So why was she saying now that it was fine? "Listen to me baby, please. I wasn't mad at you, and what I said I didn't really mean, I was upset and you walked in and I snapped and I lost it, but I knew the moment I said it that it wasn't true, that I didn't really feel that way, I was just letting my anger get the best of me. And I should have known better, that wasn't ok, especially not towards you after everything. I'm sorry. But I don't want you to try and change yourself just to make me happy, that's the absolute last thing I want for you. I had to do it growing up and I never, ever, want you to feel like you aren't enough just the way you are. I don't want to be like your foster parents, that isn't ok. You deserve better."

"You aren't like my foster parents and I'm not changing myself." Elliott said.

"Yes you are, I can see it, Elle." Cordelia said. "You won't hang around in the same room as me and Misty, you walked into the kitchen last night, saw it was us and quickly cleared out, that's not like you."

"I had homework." Elliott explained.

"You're sitting in here doing homework when I know you would rather be doing anything else." Cordelia retorted.

"We made a deal, I'm not going to take advantage of it." Elliott responded, sounding more confused than anything else.

"You didn't fight me on staying with me at night." Cordelia said, running down the list.

"Because I knew you were freaked out about the accident." Elliott said back, making Cordelia pause for a moment, realizing she wasn't as good at hiding her fears as she thought.

"You didn't fight me on therapy. Come on Elle, I know you don't want to go." Cordelia said as she recovered, trying to get through to the girl.

"You're right, I don't, but I have to." Elliott responded adamantly, which made Cordelia pause again.

"Why would you have to?" Cordelia asked.

Elliott paused, she didn't really want to tell the woman exactly why she decided she needed therapy, she knew it would just upset her even further, make her life harder, which was the opposite of what she was trying to do. "Because I'm not ok, and I can't keep pretending like I am, it's not working."

"Is it because of your nightmares coming back?" Cordelia asked quietly, making Elliott look up at her.

"Misty told you about that?" She asked, Cordelia nodding in return.

"That's what we were fighting about that night. I was upset that she didn't tell me." Cordelia said honestly.

"I asked her not to, I didn't want to make you even more stressed." Elliott said.

"Baby, when its stuff like that I need to know so I can help. You are my number one priority, above work, above everything. I need to know when you aren't ok." Cordelia said.

"That isn't why I need to go back to therapy." Elliott answered.

"Then what is it? Is it the accident?" Cordelia asked, concerned. Obviously whatever this was had to be new information.

Elliott paused, then decided she had to be honest about what happened, "Sort of. I just realized that I have all these issues that come out when I get overstressed. Like, I can't give up control of anything, and it isn't a good thing. I knew I needed to give you power of attorney of David, and I knew I was being irrational and putting him at risk, but I couldn't let it go because then it meant everything would be out of my control. And the same thing with the pain meds, I was in a lot of pain, and I knew I needed to take them, that they would help, but I couldn't do it because it was the one thing I had a right to say no to, and I knew you wouldn't make me. And then when the doctor was stitching me up, I starting thinking, like rabbit hole thinking, and suddenly I was getting scans done and I didn't remember ever finishing the stitches or being taken, it was like I blacked out. Then I did it again right after that and I didn't remember anything that happened between then and when the police came to question me, and it really freaked me out."

Cordelia didn't say anything for a moment, she didn't really know what to say. She wasn't expecting that at all, any of that. Suddenly it made sense why Elliott was so confused about David being in surgery. Cordelia had just chalked it up to Elliott being overly tired, but it actually was something else entirely, and she missed it. "What were you thinking about?" Cordelia asked quietly, trying to fully understand what was going on inside the girl's head.

Elliott shook her head, "That doesn't matter."

"Elle, yes it does. Talk to me." Cordelia pleaded, making Elliott look down at her hands and sigh.

"I don't know, a lot. Mostly about how destructive I am to everyone around me. I don't mean to be, but somehow it happens and I don't know how to stop it. I just make everyone's lives harder." Elliott said honestly, not looking up.

Cordelia sat there stunned and beyond confused, Elliott wasn't making any sense, "Elle, what are you talking about?"

"Don't." Elliott said firmly, "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about to try and make me feel better."

"Baby, I really don't know what you are talking about." Cordelia responded, grabbing Elliott's chin and forcing her to look up, seeing the tears that filled her eyes.

Seeing Cordelia's concerned face just made Elliott feel worse, she really shouldn't have said anything. She knew no matter what she said Cordelia was just going to try and make her feel better, but she didn't deserve to feel better. Once again, there she was manipulating the situation. She couldn't do it anymore, she knew what she was, how terrible she actually was. She didn't need Cordelia to make her feel better. She needed to figure out how to get out of this conversation, and fast.

Cordelia could physically see the girl retracting from the conversation, her face changing from vulnerable to completely neutral, her eyes glazing over like a switch being flipped. Elliott shook her head while blinking away her tears, pulling away from the supreme, who reached to grab her hand. "Elle, no. Talk to me, please." Cordelia pleaded as she heard footsteps on the stairs, giving Elliott her out. She watched Elliott's back straighten as she pulled her hand away, turning to face Mallory once she walked into the room.

"Hey." Mallory said as Cordelia tried to pull herself back together. Mallory noticed the look on her face and glanced between the supreme and Elliott, "You ok?"

"We're fine, why?" Elliott asked innocently, Mallory shaking her head in return. Cordelia sat there stunned and a little freaked out, it was like Elliott had already expected her to brush it off, Mallory was playing right into her hand.

Mallory focused her attention on Cordelia, asking, "Can I talk to you about something?"

Everything in Cordelia told her to say no, to tell her they would talk later so she could get to the bottom of whatever was going on with Elliott, but Elliott saw the supreme's apprehensiveness and jumped in, "Oh, I'll go. I have to get to bed anyways."

Cordelia moved to stop her, but couldn't get the words out of her mouth as the girl left the room and went upstairs. Honestly, the whole encounter had thrown her off. Mallory didn't seem to pick up that she had interrupted something, launching straight into her conversation about one of the girls, so Cordelia just gave up and went along with it until the conversation was over.

Once Cordelia was left on her own again, she thought about going up and seeing if Elliott was still awake, but something in her told her that she would be fast asleep, or at least pretending to be. It was obvious that whatever Elliott was going to talk about she somehow decided halfway through it wasn't a good idea, then she expertly wormed her way out of the situation. Cordelia knew from when Elliott first arrived at the coven that she was good at working situations to her advantage, putting up a charismatic front to hide her own issues, but the supreme hadn't seen a glint of it since then, or at least it wasn't so blatant.

Suddenly, it all fell into place: her being so easy, the instantaneous flip, the manipulation. She was detaching, but for the life of her Cordelia couldn't figure out why. Since the accident she had been moving backwards, going back to her old habits, and Cordelia hadn't even noticed. Actually, she had, but she dismissed them by saying Elliott was just busy, even when she knew in her gut that wasn't the case. But why was she doing it? Cordelia had thought they had made a lot of progress, hell, Elliott had even called her mom, but now it certainly didn't seem like it.

God, why was this so confusing? Everything with Elliott seemed to yoyo back and forth, which to some degree the supreme expected, but it seemed like every time Cordelia had thought she finally knew who the girl was, how she thought, she would pull a complete switch up. Was it calling her mama? Was that what set everything off? Or maybe the adoption? It was set to be finalized in a few weeks, just after Elliott's birthday, and to be honest Cordelia thought it would be the least of their worries, but now she didn't know. She wished Elliott would just talk to her, but the girl had some serious trust issues, not that the supreme blamed her. But, Elliott's words rang through her head.

I'm destructive to everyone around me. I make everyone's lives harder.

Where was that coming from? Cordelia had understood the gravity of the words, she knew Elliott had an extremely distorted sense of self, but something had to trigger that thought process, that conclusion. She tried to get Elliott to explain, but that's where the girl had shut down. The encounter had reminded Delia of the own words she said, or yelled, at Myrtle in the greenhouse a year prior, and it pained the supreme to think that out of all the traits she could have passed down to her daughter, her own self-hatred was the one she ended up with.

Eventually, the supreme managed to wander upstairs and go to bed, Elliott asleep next to her. She tossed and turned for a little while, thinking of how to reassure her obviously hurting daughter, but she thought of nothing, eventually drifting off into a restless slumber.

Beside her, Elliott had once again found herself having another strange dream, once again finding herself in Fiona's cabin. She listened to the man and her argue for what had to be an hour before the older witch stomped out, stopping once she saw the girl. "Do you two do this everyday?" Elliott asked sarcastically, getting a glare from the witch.

"Part of my penance. Now, are you here for a reason, or do you still think this is your little dream playground?" Fiona responded shortly, "I have things to do."

"No you don't. You're dead." Elliott quipped.

"Death is supposed to be peaceful." Fiona quipped back, looking Elliott up and down, "Why do you look like shit?"

"Got hit by a car. What's your excuse?" Elliott deadpanned, making Fiona smirk. She really was her grandchild.

"Eternal damnation is my excuse." Fiona responded.

"You still going with this whole "I'm in hell" thing? If you were in hell, isn't the whole point that you aren't aware of it?" Elliott asked.

"I'm the supreme dear, I know hell when I see it." Fiona said.

"You WERE the supreme, now you are just a figment of my imagination. Apparently I must not have liked you very much if my brain put you here." Elliott joked, Fiona laughing knowingly.

"Hm, you still think this is a dream? Well, you've always been painfully stubborn, you get that from your cockroach of a father." Fiona joked, smirking.

"And I get my destructive ways from you, apparently." Elliott snarked, getting a curious look from Fiona, "You do realize everyone hated you, right?"

"I saved their asses, they don't get to hate me. Do they hate you?" Fiona asked.

"No, but they will once they realize what's good for them." Elliott sinisterly joked.

"Please tell me Cordelia hasn't ruined you and turned you into a spineless, self-loathing imbecile." Fiona sighed, getting a glare from Elliott.

"I've always been a self-loathing imbecile. You would know that if you stuck around." Elliott responded shortly.

"I was there even when you didn't think I was. So dear, let's cut to the chase. What is bothering you so much you cast yourself down here? Has the adoption happened yet?" Fiona asked.

"No, I'm not so sure that's a good idea anymore." Elliott said darkly, causing Fiona to eye her.

"Oh get over yourself. This poor me attitude is bullshit. You're a Goode, act like it." Fiona responded.

"You don't even know what's going on." Elliott said, offended.

"I don't need to. I know you. You've always thought of yourself as the bad seed, and when you were a child I let you get away with it, but you aren't a little girl anymore. Not everything revolves around you, and trust me, you aren't powerful enough to cause the chaos you think you do. You aren't, and never will be, me, as much as you want to be." Fiona said condescendingly, "If you really think you are that much trouble, then leave, it's what I did."

"You left because you didn't want the responsibility, not because you actually cared." Elliott said harshly.

"Which is exactly what you want, a way out. Only difference is I owned it, you are hiding behind the façade that you are doing it for others. You aren't. You don't want to take responsibility for your actions, work to fix them, you want to run so you won't be held accountable. So do it. But you are the way you are because you choose to be, not because of some greater power, it doesn't exist." Fiona said, "The sooner you learn that, the better. There is magic in this world, but not that."

When Elliott's eyes opened, she was bathed in darkness, Cordelia fast asleep beside her. She quietly rolled over to check the time, it was only 3am. Elliott probably should have gone back to sleep, but her mind was wide awake. She didn't want to risk waking Cordelia by tossing and turning, so she carefully climbed out of bed and headed downstairs, grabbing a glass of water to calm her wandering mind. It didn't work, and suddenly Elliott was getting the overwhelming desire to run. She couldn't be in that house, it was suffocating. Fiona's words replayed in her mind, she couldn't leave, not after Fiona had basically called her a selfish, immature bitch. As much as Elliott really believed everyone would be better off without her, she knew her leaving would just cause even more wreckage, so she settled on sitting outside on the porch for some air as Max ran around.

Fall in New Orleans meant warm days and freezing nights, the tips of the grass blades covered in a dewy frost and the air so cold it made Elliott's lungs hurt, but it also made her feel alive. Normally, before all of this happened, when Elliott got antsy like this, she would drag David to her secret spot across town. It was situated behind a cemetery that you had to walk through, then you went through the forest on a winding trail until the trees were so dense you would think you hit a wall. There was a small opening, however, and once you crawled through it opened up into a small quarry. Elliott would force David to sit there for hours in the cold and watch the stars or tell ghost stories, anything to get her as far away from herself as possible. She missed those nights, more than anything. It was like entering another dimension, a secret space only they knew about.

But here, Elliott couldn't escape herself, as badly as she wanted to. Fiona was right, Elliott was hiding her own selfishness behind a very convincing front. She had never had to deal with others wants and feelings, she had never had anyone force her to grow, and when she was finally faced with it all she wanted to do was leave, it was easier that way. But she couldn't do that to Cordelia, or to Misty. She was trapped, and there was nothing more that she hated than feeling trapped. It was her own fault, she let herself do this, find a family. Hell, she even called Cordelia mom, and as much as she hated herself for it, for letting Cordelia in, she didn't regret it, not one bit, and that scared her even more.

The adoption was coming up, like soon. And with each day it got closer, the more terrified Elliott became of losing it all. The accident was a blaring reminder, everything could be gone in a second. She had lost her parents, she almost lost David, and as hard as she tried to ignore it, one day she would lose Cordelia. Everything was temporary, the only constant in her life being herself, and she didn't even like herself that much.

She knew Cordelia was right, she had been different since everything had happened. She didn't mean to be, honestly she didn't. She just felt like she had been standing at the edge of a cliff, more like teetering, and she was one wrong move from falling. But what she was falling into she wasn't exactly sure of. It was exhilarating, and also completely terrifying, but without knowing exactly what she was falling into, something in her told her to let go, and that was the hardest part. It could be something great, or it could be her demise, yet there she was, teetering.

Surprisingly, as unstable as her whole life had been, that was her solid ground. But since moving to the coven, meeting Cordelia, the girls, Misty, she had been inching closer and closer to the cliff, like it was calling to her. She almost jumped, when Cordelia had talked with her earlier, but she backed off. Maybe that's what the space beyond the cliff was, letting Cordelia in, all the way in.

She had to admit, she had been keeping her mostly at arm's length. There were a few times she let her inch closer, but never close enough, because that would mean Elliott would have to give in, to rely on her completely, and she wasn't sure she was ready to do that. It wasn't that she didn't trust her, she did, more than anyone, even David. It was that she knew she was more than Cordelia could handle. She had already given the supreme countless sleepless nights, hospital visits, and breakdowns. She didn't need to deal with Elliott's emotional baggage too.

When ya are raised wild, ya behave wild. Ya can try but ya can't tame them, not fully.

Misty had said that to her once, when they were out in the greenhouse going over another book Elliott had found. The context was in terms of wild cats, but it applied to Elliott's life just the same. She had been raised wild, bouncing from place to place, a twisted sort of vagabond existence. And she definitely did behave wild, that she knew for sure. She had tried to be domestic, to fit into the box she so desperately wished she could fit in, be who everyone wanted her to be, but she couldn't. Her wild ways always prevailed.

"Elle, it's 3:30. What are you doing?" Cordelia asked from the doorway, snapping Elliott out of her thoughts. What was she doing up?

"Couldn't sleep." Elliott responded, her legs bouncing beneath her.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Cordelia asked, taking in the girls very alive state.

"No, just a weird dream." Elliott responded, looking out at the street lights.

"It's freezing. You shouldn't even be outside this late, it's dangerous." Cordelia said sleepily, "Come inside before you get sick."

In that moment Elliott thought she would actually die if she went inside, so she begged, "A few more minutes? Please? I can't be inside right now."

Cordelia could tell something was off, her energy was frantic. The young girl was practically vibrating, like every nerve and muscle in her was alive and on fire. It wasn't exactly anxiety, but it wasn't excitement either, hanging somewhere in between. There was a certain spark in her eye though, one Cordelia hadn't ever seen before, so with a great sigh she conceded, heading over to sit on the swing with the girl. "Fine, a few more minutes. But then you are going back to bed."

"Deal." Elliott said quietly, folding her legs beneath her as Max came to lay in the space her feet previously occupied. Cordelia folded her legs so they rested against her chest, if anything to get some warmth, which Elliott noticed. "You can go inside if you want, or at least get a jacket."

"I'm not leaving you out here, not even for a second. How are you not freezing?" Cordelia asked, chuckling.

Elliott shrugged in response, "I like it, the cold. Helps me think."

"Think about what?" Cordelia asked. As weird as the situation was, in some strange way it was calming. There was something really beautiful about it, but Cordelia couldn't put her finger on what.

"Everything." Elliott said calmly.

"You know you could stand in front of the freezer and get the same effect." Cordelia joked, "Can't you think inside?"

"No, it's not the same." Elliott responded.

"Do you do this a lot?" Cordelia asked, Elliott shaking her head.

"Not since I came here. I used to do it a lot. I missed it." Elliott answered.

"What was your dream about?" Cordelia asked, wanting to understand what drove the girl to this point.

"Fiona." Elliott said, causing Cordelia to look at her confused.

"Fiona?" She asked, Elliott nodding at her in return, "Do you dream about her a lot?"

"No, only sometimes. I don't know why, she's just as bitchy in my sub conscious as she was in real life." Elliott said, making Cordelia chuckle.

"What did she do?" Cordelia asked, amused.

"What she always does, she told me I was being an idiot and to get my shit together." Elliott joked.

"That sounds like her." Cordelia joked back. "So Fiona being Fiona is what drove you outside in the middle of the night?"

"Yea, I mean, partly. Me needing to get away from myself is what drove me outside in the middle of the night. I couldn't sit inside, it's too suffocating. Outside is…better, less constricting." Elliott said, "I don't feel like I'm drowning out here."

Cordelia knew at that comment that she couldn't drag Elliott inside, not until she was ready, although at that point she really didn't want to. There was something different about the way Elliott spoke, it was completely unfiltered, bordering on rambling, but in a good way. She was relaxed yet bubbly and energetic, her thoughts uncensored and coming at a constant stream. She was free. "You feel like you're drowning?"

"I did. Not in necessarily a bad way, just in a way that made me want to run." Elliott said honestly.

"You wanted to run away?" Cordelia asked, slightly concerned.

"No. Well, for a short time yes, but no. I just wanted to get away. Before, when I got like this, I would go somewhere, as far away from everything as I could get, and I would do this." Elliott answered.

"Why did you want to run away?" Cordelia asked.

"I thought it would be easier, for everyone. I cause a lot of chaos, directly or indirectly. I have a bad habit of destroying everything and everyone, not on purpose, but I still do it. I thought I wanted to leave because everyone would be better without me, less stress." Elliott said honestly.

"But?" Cordelia prodded.

"But me leaving wouldn't be easier on everyone else, it would just be easier on me because then I wouldn't have to change anything, be responsible for anyone else. I could pretend that it was about other people, but it was about me not wanting to actually do the work to be better, because it's scary." Elliott said quietly.

"Why would it be scary?" Cordelia asked, completely immersed in the conversation. Elliott's energy was intoxicating, pulling the supreme in with every word.

"Because then it isn't just me." Elliott said, once again feeling the urge to dive off the cliff, "Before, it was just me. And that was easy. Then, David came in, and it was just me and him, which was ok. It wasn't as easy, but it was ok. Now, there's a lot of people, a lot more than I know how to deal with. It's not easy, having people care about you. And it's even harder when you actually care about them, because you want to invest in it, but you know you shouldn't."

"Why shouldn't you?" Cordelia asked. Elliott wasn't really making a whole lot of sense, but somehow Cordelia still understood.

"Because you'll lose them, and you know you will and it will hurt. It should be easier the more people you have, because you'll still have most of them even if you lose one. But it isn't, because they become a part of you, so when you lose them you lose part of yourself too. When it's just you, you never lose anyone, you always have 100% of yourself, and when there's two of you, you are still left with half of you once they are gone. But when there's multiple, that percentage of you left over gets increasingly smaller, and eventually you will lose everyone." Elliott rambled, "It's kind of like jumping off a cliff, giving up a part of yourself. The fall is really fun and great, but once you get to the bottom it really hurts."

"Yet people continue to do it." Cordelia interjected, understanding the weird metaphor.

"They do, usually. Unless they hit a rock or something, then they don't want to do it again." Elliott said.

"And did you hit a rock?" Cordelia asked.

"Yes, but I don't remember it, I just know I did." Elliott said honestly.

"So it makes you not want to jump again?" Cordelia asked.

Elliott paused for a moment, processing, before slowly shaking her head, "No, I just did."


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, now the fic is caught up and I'll be adding to it from here with live updates. This story is also on fanfiction but I thought it would be good for here too. There's already a sequel in the works and a series of alternate universe one shots on if Cordelia kept Elliott, so keep your eyes out for those, they hopefully will be online soon! Let me know what you think!

Cordelia's eyebrows knitted together, trying to process everything, but Elliott didn't even give her the time, "Can we go somewhere? I want to show you something."

Cordelia let out a laugh, "Now?" Elliott nodded, "Baby, it's 4am. Can't you show me tomorrow?"

"No, it has to be at night. You'll like it mama, I promise." Elliott said, Cordelia looking at her doubtfully, "Please?"

Cordelia wanted to object, but she couldn't, not when she finally realized this was Elliott's way of letting her in. Whatever this place was, it had to be important. "Fine. Go get your shoes."

"Grab a jacket, and we need blankets. I'll get Misty, she'll like this." Elliott said quickly, practically running inside, leaving a confused and slightly startled Cordelia. What the hell just happened?

A few moments later, Elliott came back downstairs with a very sleepy Misty, practically handing her to Cordelia before taking off again. "What are we doin'?" Misty asked.

"I have no idea." Cordelia responded, Misty looking over at her confused as the older woman shrugged back at her.

The three piled into the car and Elliott typed the address into Cordelia's GPS, driving for a few minutes until they reached a cemetery. "Elliott, no. I am not going into a cemetery at 4am. Not only is that creepy, but I don't feel like going to jail tonight." Cordelia said as she shifted the car into park, turning to the girl in the backseat.

"We aren't hanging out in the cemetery, I'm not insane. We just have to cut through it to get to where we have to go." Elliott said as Cordelia threw her a look, "We can probably go around it if you want, but cutting through it is easier." Cordelia's stare didn't lessen, so she continued, "We won't go to jail, at least I don't think. I've never gone to jail. Do you trust me?"

Cordelia let out a sigh but nodded, getting out of the car. The three of them started the trek, Elliott taking the lead in front of them, weaving through the graves like she had a hundred times before. She stopped every few moments to wait for the older women to catch up, then took off once again. "Elle, slow down!" Cordelia yelled, glancing around her for any sign of security.

"Can't, you slow down the ghosts will get you!" Elliott yelled back, turning to look at the older woman and throw her a playful smirk before disappearing behind a crypt.

"She's right." Misty said as Cordelia glanced at her, now much more alert.

Cordelia threw a playful glare at the swamp witch, "Yea well if she keeps moving like that we're going to lose her and the ghosts really will get her." Misty laughed as Cordelia realized she had absolutely no idea where the young girl went, approaching the crypt as she yelled, "Elle?"

"Boo!" Elliott said as the two older women rounded the corner, effectively scaring the shit out of them as she giggled.

"Not funny." Cordelia said, her heart racing and her eyes wide.

"Relax, it's not like zombies will come out of their grave and eat us." Elliott said offhandedly.

"You haven't seen what I have." Cordelia responded as Elliott threw her a doubtful look.

"Ya said you've been here before?" Misty asked as Elliott nodded, once again moving haphazardly through the graves, "Shouldn't there be security stoppin' people from doin' this?"

"There used to be, but it was never very good. I knew the guy that did it, and he never had an issue with me wandering through, he had much bigger issues than a little kid. This cemetery has a lot of very old, very rich people, and it's a big one for grave robbing." Elliott answered.

"If they know it's a target then why would they stop having security?" Cordelia asked.

"It's hard to find security when no one wants to do it. Working here was basically a death sentence, grave robbers aren't exactly nice people. Eventually they just gave up and abandoned it." Elliott said, "We're almost out of here, don't worry."

"Did ya ever run in ta one?" Misty asked.

"A grave robber? All the time." Elliott answered, looking at Cordelia's shocked and concerned face, laughing a little, "They aren't nice, but they aren't heartless either. It was usually the same ones, and once they knew me and I was friends with them they didn't bother me, they knew I wasn't going to get in their way."

"How did ya become friends with them?" Misty asked, a little intrigued, "They don't seem ta be exactly friendly."

Elliott laughed, "They weren't, at least not to people who were trying to interrupt them. I brought them all peanut butter sandwiches." Cordelia and Misty both laughed at that one, more out of being stunned than anything else. "What? I was like 10 and they were working all night. It's a very labor intensive job, they needed it." Cordelia wasn't surprised that Elliott was able to be friendly with them, she had an unmistakable knack for worming her way into everyone's hearts, even without trying, Madison was a prime example of that.

The three had finally made their way through the cemetery and now were standing along the tree line, Elliott counting the number of trees to find the spot they were supposed to enter at. "This way." She said, tugging on Cordelia's arm and stepping into the forest. Cordelia glanced over her shoulder to see Misty just following along, completely giving in to the insanity that the night was.

"Why can't I imagine grave robbers eating a peanut butter sandwich? It just doesn't fit." Misty said offhandedly, moving through the trees with the other women.

"They loved it, or at least they pretended like they did. According to them I make the best peanut butter sandwiches, like it's that hard." Elliott laughed, looking over at Cordelia, "Are you ok?"

"Elle, where are we going?" Cordelia asked.

"You'll see." Elliott said, turning back and winding through the trees, still holding Cordelia's hand.

"Did ya ever talk ta them?" Misty asked, still intrigued by Elliott's life. It was interesting, to say the least.

"All the time. After me and David got split up I would come out and talk with them while they worked, they really didn't seem to mind." Elliott answered.

"So ya would just sit on a grave and have a chat while they worked?" Misty asked, Elliott laughing as she nodded, she knew how insane it sounded.

"Pretty much. I didn't ever actually see anything though; they wouldn't let me. When they opened the graves they would make me turn around and close my eyes." Elliott said.

"Havin' conversations with grave robbers, that's new." Misty said, sharing a look with Cordelia.

"You'd be surprised at what you learn. You would assume people like that we're involved in a lot of other deplorable crimes, and some were, but most were completely normal people with jobs and families they were trying to provide for. It was cool to see the other side of it, get some perspective." Elliott said honestly.

"And you never had an issue with what they were doing?" Cordelia asked.

"I mean, morally I did. Stealing in any capacity is wrong and I knew that, and so did they. But I could see the other side of it. These people were buried with things that weren't even useful to them, just because they had monetary value and they didn't want anyone else to have it, not even their family. Things that have a sentimental value you want to pass down, you don't want to keep it forever, at least not if you are smart about it. It was just a status thing, being rich even after you are gone. It's selfish, and there are a lot of people who are struggling to even get by. The people I knew who were stealing them weren't doing it because they just wanted to be rich or just to take, they were doing it because they needed it to support their family and they didn't have any other option. One guy was doing it to pay for his daughter's cancer treatment, he was the one I talked to the most, he liked me. He was working two contracting jobs and was totally upside down on his house. His wife took off because she didn't want to deal with it. He wasn't using the money to buy a Maserati or something, it was going towards something that actually mattered to him." Elliott explained, walking up a hill to their final destination. The brush was a lot thicker than the last time she had been there, and it almost was impossible to tell where they were supposed to go. "Turn on your flashlight." Elliott said to Cordelia, who looked at her strangely before doing it. Elliott pointed it toward the base of the trees, spotting the carvings she had etched into them years before. "Right through here."

Elliott first stepped through the trees, then grabbed for Cordelia's hand, then Misty's. "Careful." She said, "You don't want to fall, especially not here."

Cordelia stepped through the trees and looked around, her eyes struggling to adjust to the lack of light. It was dark, more than dark, but between the moon reflecting off the body of water below and the stars above, it was just lit enough to make out her surroundings. "Wow, darlin' it's beautiful." Misty said, gazing around. The place was beautiful; it was the kind of scenery that took your breath away. Cordelia could now understand why Elliott had told them to be careful, they were on a narrow ledge that widened the farther away from the tree line they went, but on either side of where they entered it was a steep cliff, dropping sharply into the water below.

As Elliott laid down a blanket Cordelia stared at her. Elliott was normally one everyone couldn't look away from, as hard as she tried not to be, but something about tonight was different, she was different. She was practically glowing, in an ethereal sort of way. Her pale, sweat coated skin practically sparkled every time she moved, like all the magic in the world was inside her. She glanced up at Cordelia and softly smiled, her eyes reflecting the moonlight like an electric spark, bouncing back and forth across her iris. Even her energy was alight, but in its purest form. It bounced off the trees like an echoing scream, hitting the supreme in soft waves.

For once Cordelia understood what Misty meant when she said nature was calling to her, because in that moment it was calling to her too. The more she looked out into the expanse of rock and water, the more her heart pulled, like being tugged toward the center of the universe, and this sort of was a universe, except it wasn't hers, it was Elliott's.

Cordelia glanced back at Misty and saw the same look reflected back at her, Misty was completely enthralled, her eyes wide as she looked around, taking it all in. Misty always was in love with nature, so Cordelia really wasn't surprised, but she was surprised by her own reaction, being a city girl at heart.

You'll like it mama, I promise.

And Cordelia did like it, she loved it, although she wasn't sure why. She never was one for nature, she thought the natural wonders of the world were incredibly boring, and she absolutely was the type who would rather be shopping than camping, but for some reason this just felt right. She finally understood why Elliott was so adamant about going right then, if Elliott were a place, this would be it. It was beautiful, on the surface, but also a little bit dangerous, standing on solid ground but one wrong move from an untimely fate. It was calm, the city noises completely absent, but also chaotic, you could hear the water below slapping against the rock, the crickets chirping as the leaves in the distance cracked under the weight of some animal's gate. It was completely out in the open to anyone who dared to wander, but also closed off and tucked away. Cordelia didn't even know a place like this existed in New Orleans, and judging by the lack of beer cans and other miscellaneous trash, neither did anyone else.

Cordelia was drawn out of her musings by Elliott calling to her, "Mama, come here!" She moved slowly, smiling at the girl as she wandered over. "You looked like you were about to walk right over that ledge, I had to stop you." Elliott joked, the supreme rolling her eyes as she sat down and pulled the girl to her.

"No, I was just thinking." Cordelia said, Elliott raising her eyebrows knowingly. This place always made her think too, that's why she liked it out here.

"I didn't know there was a place where ya could actually see the stars in New Orleans. Ya can't see em from the swamp, too many trees in the way." Misty said, gazing around in wonder. "This place is magic."

"That it is." Cordelia said dreamily, staring out into the abyss.

Elliott smiled, content. She had worried she had made a mistake dragging them out here, that it was too soon and she would regret it, or that she would show them and they wouldn't really get it. But she saw the look on their faces and she knew she did the right thing, and for once she felt at peace, this wasn't just her space anymore.

"How did I not know this was here?" Cordelia asked a little while later, looking over at Elliott.

"Most people don't, that's why it's so cool. I expected someone else would have found it by now and turned it into some part of the water system, but I think if they have found it they've decided it's too dangerous to have people working out here. It's hard to see through the tree line, and if you go in at the wrong spot you'll fall down a cliff. There's literally only one spot where we came in that you can actually access it, everywhere else it's just a drop off." Elliott answered, looking over and seeing Misty fast asleep, which made her and Cordelia chuckle.

"You said David knows about it?" Cordelia asked, intrigued.

Elliott nodded, "He's the one who found it with me. I've known about this place since I was seven, and so far it looks like no one else has found it."

"How did you find it?" Cordelia asked, noticing how Elliott's face changed. She wasn't upset, but you could tell it wasn't exactly an easy thing for her to explain.

"My parents are buried here, in the cemetery." Elliott said, which made Cordelia nod. The older woman had expected Elliott to stop there, but she continued, "When we were placed together I told him I had never gone to their graves, I didn't even know where they were buried, so he took me to every cemetery in New Orleans looking for them. We probably went to about fifty before we came here, and when we found them I realized I really didn't want to see it, so I took off running. He chased after me and we ended up here." Cordelia smiled a bit as Elliott was quiet for a few moments before speaking again, "There's a thousand different trees I could have crawled between and fallen off a cliff, but somehow I managed to go through the perfect one and ended up here. It's just weird, like some kind of cosmic thing. I should have fallen to my death right then, but I didn't, and then after that this became the place I always went to when I needed to think or get away. I lived out here when I ran away, it was the only place I could think of where they wouldn't find me."

"You lived out here?" Cordelia asked, stunned as Elliott nodded.

"For a few weeks when I first left. There's a mini mart down the street, and I made friends with the guy who owned it, he would let me take whatever I needed and I would pay him whatever I could when Thomas paid me. He hated his son, but he forced him to work at the shop so he wouldn't get into trouble, not that it stopped him. He was the dog fighting guy. He liked me so he offered to let me stay with him, until that fell through, then I came back here." Elliott said.

"What did you do after that?" Cordelia asked, wanting to know everything. She knew enough about Elliott's earlier life from her file, but this was uncharted territory, the only record of it being in the girl's mind.

Elliott paused for a moment, thinking, "I bounced around a lot. I would make friends with some pretty shady people who didn't exactly have my best interests at heart, but they would let me stay with them, and I would stay until things went bad and then I would come back here. Most weren't terrible people, they were ok, they just got involved in things they shouldn't have, like dealing drugs or being in a gang, and they couldn't get out of it. I stayed with Thomas for a while, until he got locked up for a DUI, and that was the last place before I came back here. I was out here for a few months and then one day David showed up, he had gotten emancipated and had his own place, so he took me with him."

"David's always been your person, hasn't he?" Cordelia asked, smiling at Elliott, who was now lying with her head on the supreme's lap while she played with her hair.

"Yea, kinda. It didn't really matter where we were, we always seemed to find each other and help each other, I don't know." Elliott said, her face getting a little red.

"You said your parents were buried here?" Cordelia asked, Elliott nodding, "Have you seen them since?"

Elliott's expression stiffened again, but she still answered Cordelia's question, "Once, a while ago. I haven't been back since."

"Why?" Cordelia asked, knowing there was probably more to the story, which was only confirmed when Elliott sighed and sat up, Cordelia creasing her eyebrows as she did. You could see Elliott debating on telling the supreme, so Cordelia jumped in, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"No, it's ok. I just haven't really told anyone, it's not exactly my proudest moment." Elliott said, shifting her weight so she was facing the older witch, "You remember how I was talking about the grave robber, the one who was trying to pay for his daughter's chemo?" Cordelia nodded, remembering the conversation that took place earlier, "Well, they all knew my parents were buried here, so they never really messed with them. But, when he told me why he was doing it, I wanted to help him. I don't remember a lot from my parents, but I do remember their funeral, vividly, and I knew what they were buried with. They both had their wedding rings, my mother had a necklace and my dad had a pocket watch. I told him to take it, that it was ok. I showed him where they were and I was there the whole time while he did it. He made me turn around when he actually opened the casket, but..." She trailed off, Cordelia just looking at her. "I thought it was ok at the time, that they would have wanted to help, but after I realized I didn't really know them all that well, and I should've felt guilty, but I didn't. Then I felt guilty because I didn't feel guilty, so I didn't go back."

Cordelia was quiet for a moment, processing everything. She could see why Elliott didn't tell anyone, if she told someone who didn't know her heart then it would look very bad, but Cordelia did know her, and she knew Elliott did the right thing, she always did the right thing. "They would have wanted to help. They wouldn't be mad." Cordelia finally said quietly, Elliott looking at her confused, "I did know them, fairly well actually. They were good people, not just in the moral sense, but actually good. Even when I told them I didn't want to give you up, they still were genuinely good people. They would have wanted you to do whatever you felt was right."

"You knew them?" Elliott asked, "I didn't know that."

Cordelia nodded, pulling the young girl back into her lap, "I did, I picked them out. Well, Fiona picked them out, but I met them and agreed to it. They were at every doctor's appointment, they called me every night to make sure I was ok. I even stayed with them at one point." Elliott looked up at her, confused so the supreme continued, "Me and Hank weren't doing great, we were really off and on and we were living together, so it wasn't the best situation. But they always let me stay with them, even when I told them I wanted to keep you, they still showed up and were supportive. They told me they wanted me to do whatever I felt was right, and that no matter what I was still your mother, and that even if I kept you they still wanted to be in our lives. They even showed up when I was in labor, when Hank was nowhere to be found and Fiona was screaming, and they were with me in the delivery room."

"What made you change your mind?" Elliott asked.

"Fiona." Cordelia said, making Elliott laugh, "I was holding you and she told me I should keep you, and that's when I knew I couldn't. She was in my exact situation, and she kept me and I wished she hadn't. I wanted better for you, and they were it. They still wanted me around, they sent me pictures of you on your first birthday, but I wanted to stay as far away from you as possible, for your own sake."

"You did the right thing." Elliott said, Cordelia just staring down at her, "You did, and I know you don't think you did, but you did. There's a lot of things that happened because of it, and not all of them are bad, some are very good. I never would have been able to help that guy, I wouldn't have busted the dog fighting, Cora and Emma would probably be dead, and Fiona most likely would have tried to slit my throat before I could even walk."

Cordelia looked stunned then bust out laughing, of course Elliott would throw in a joke to lighten the mood. "She would not, I wouldn't have let her."

"You really think you would have stopped Fiona Goode? I don't think a nuclear bomb could have stopped her. There's a reason why when I dream of her she's always in hell, because I know that is exactly where she belongs." Elliott joked.

"I thought you liked her?" Cordelia asked while laughing.

"I liked her because she was there, not because I liked her. I like her in the same way you like Madison." Elliott said adamantly.

"I like Madison!" Cordelia said, feigning shock.

"You like Maddie, but you don't like her. She's there so you like her, but if you didn't have to deal with her you wouldn't." Elliott explained.

"I put her on the council." Cordelia argued.

"Because who else would you put on it? Don't get me wrong, I love Maddie, but she's there because of obligation. If you had it your way Mallory would be on the council instead of her, but she's too new." Elliott said.

"I can't put Mallory on the council." Cordelia said seriously, making Elliott look at her curiously.

"Because she's the next supreme?" She asked, making Cordelia look back at her questioningly.

"You think it's Mallory?" Cordelia asked.

"I think she's the strongest one right now, at least from what I've seen, not that I've seen much." Elliott responded, looking back at the water.

"It could be you." Cordelia said.

"It's not me." Elliott said quietly.

"Why not?" Cordelia asked, curious. Elliott was actually the strongest witch they had, even if she didn't realize it.

"Because probability says no." Elliott joked, throwing a look at the supreme.

"Probability said no before and look where we are." Cordelia retorted.

"And you think it's going to say fuck it a second time?" Elliott asked.

"Language Missy." Cordelia responded, tucking a piece of hair behind Elliott's ear, "It might, you never know."

"No I do know, it's not me. At that point it isn't even chance, it's a lineage, and that screws up the whole system. I'm not even supposed to be here." Elliott responded.

"But you are." Cordelia said, smiling down at her daughter, "It has to be for a reason."

"Hopefully one we will never know." Elliott said, smiling knowingly at the supreme.

"Max would love it out here." Cordelia said, changing the subject.

"Max would trip and fall off the cliff. I'm doing him a favor." Elliott quipped, making Cordelia smirk at her.

"How did you know I would like it here?" Cordelia asked, "I mean, it's nature so Misty is a given, but you know I hate nature."

Elliott laughed, "You do. I didn't know, I just thought you might. This place makes you think, about everything, but not like normal stuff. You overthink the normal stuff, like I do."

"That I do." Cordelia laughed, "But I'm also not one to sit around and think, I like to do things, like shopping and working."

Elliott thought for a moment, "Shopping and working is a distraction, and this is too. Just a different kind, it's still work, you're still being productive, just in a different way. Not once since you came here did you think of John Henry or the school, did you?"

"No I didn't." Cordelia responded, realizing she in fact hadn't.

"Exactly. It's different here, that stuff doesn't matter because it doesn't exist, not here." Elliott explained.

The two sat quiet for a little while, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Cordelia spoke, verbalizing a thought she had been thinking about for some time, "Hey Elle? Did you ever find out what happened to that guy and his daughter?"

Elliott looked up at her and nodded, "He ended up getting caught, so he's in jail, but she's ok."

"How do you know?" Cordelia asked, intrigued.

"The girl was Sarah." Elliott answered, watching Cordelia's face shift to one of shock.

"I thought you met her in school?" Cordelia asked.

"I did. That's how I knew him. I hadn't seen them in years, but he remembered me, which is probably why all the other guys left me alone. After everything I started hanging out with her again." Elliott answered.

"But I thought you said the girl's mother left?" Cordelia asked.

"She did, Grace isn't her real mother, she was her dad's girlfriend. When he got locked up she adopted her." Elliott said.

"Does she know what you did?" Cordelia asked as Elliott shook her head.

"No, no one knows besides him. She just knows I was there when he was doing it." Elliott responded, noticing the sun starting to peak up, "We should get going, you still have class to teach."

Cordelia had completely forgotten about her duties; the thought of class hadn't even crossed her mind. "It's fine, I'm sure no one is going to be too upset if I cancel history. We'll stay, might as well watch the sunrise." She thought for a moment, "Elle? Would it be ok if we went to see your parents?" Elliott didn't verbally respond, but she did nod her head slightly in the supreme's lap, looking up at her and giving her a soft smile.

A few minutes after that, Cordelia glanced down and saw Elliott was asleep on her, her face blissfully peaceful and relaxed. She smiled down at her and stroked her hair, relishing in her content state. The supreme knew eventually the moment would end, but truthfully she wanted it to last forever. She would stay out on that cliff for eternity if it meant Elliott was with her, like this. Elliott had only been with her for less than six months, yet somehow Cordelia, and everyone around her, was completely enthralled with her, borderline obsessed. Elliott had them all wrapped around her finger, and she didn't even realize it. As painful as the last six months had been, it also had been the most amazing, most rewarding time in Cordelia's life. Somehow, amidst the chaos, the supreme felt complete and content. She didn't think it was possible to love someone as much as she did Elliott, and while it was utterly terrifying, it was also the best thing to ever happen to her, and she wouldn't trade it for the world.

"Aw, look at all that cute." Misty whispered, just waking up.

Cordelia beamed at her child and ran her hand over her hair, then turned to the swamp witch, "What are you doing up?"

"I always wake up when the sun rises. How did ya make it this long?" Misty retorted.

"I have no idea." Cordelia said, waiting to feel the exhaustion finally waft over her, but she was awake and alert, taking everything in.

"Why did she wanna come out here in the middle of the night? I mean, I'm all for an adventure, but 4am isn't exactly the usual time." Misty said.

"She woke up in the middle of the night, I guess she had a weird dream. I found her on the porch and tried to get her back to bed, but she was antsy and didn't want to, so we talked, and then she wanted to show me here. I think this is where she usually goes when she's feeling like this." Cordelia explained.

"So why didn't she just go?" Misty asked.

"Because she knew I would kill her." Cordelia joked, "There's a lot of history behind this place, it's special to her. She thought I would like it, and you."

"But how did she convince ya ta go? No offense Dee, ya aren't the type ta go out in the middle of the night in ya pajamas." Misty joked.

"I'm not, but I think we've learned by now Elliott plays by her own rules." Cordelia joked, "I don't know. We had talked about a lot of things and she really opened up. It was obvious it was important, otherwise she wouldn't have asked. Also, I've discovered I'm very bad at saying no to her. She could ask me to jump off a cliff and I would probably do it."

"She would never ask ya ta do that, she wouldn't take advantage of ya like that." Misty said, smiling.

"I don't know if she knows I won't say no or if she does and just doesn't exploit it, but either way I don't think I'm going to be able to say no anytime soon." Cordelia joked as Elliott started to wake up, "Well good morning sleepyhead."

"Ugh" Elliott grunted as she rubbed at her eyes, noticing both women staring at her, "What?"

"How can ya look so cute sleepin' but when ya wake up it's like wakin' a dragon?" Misty joked, causing Cordelia to laugh.

"If you don't stop I'm going to actually act like a dragon." Elliott said seriously, "I can set you on fire, you know that, right?"

"But ya won't." Misty retorted.

"Test me, I dare you." Elliott said, pulling herself into a sitting position.

"Can you swim here?" Cordelia asked, trying to deter the conversation.

Elliott paused for a moment, "You could, but it's pretty difficult to get down there. I've gotten down there, but I've never done it."

"Why not?" Cordelia asked. It would be the perfect place to swim, with the water being so clear.

"I can't swim." Elliott said, "And I don't think a place no one knows about would be the best place to try."

"Ya never learned how?" Misty asked, Elliott shaking her head, "Well I guess we'll just have ta teach ya."

The three talked for a bit then gathered up their things, starting the trek back to the car. Once they had made it back into the cemetery, Elliott threw a questioning look at Cordelia, remembering what they had discussed earlier. The supreme nodded at her and she shifted her direction, winding across the cemetery instead of through it, which caught Misty off guard. "What's she doin?" She whispered to Cordelia.

"Her parents are here, I asked to see them." The supreme responded, causing Misty to nod her head.

Eventually, Elliott stopped in front of a series of graves and looked at the head witch. She didn't walk close to it, choosing to hang back, but Cordelia walked over to her and grabbed her hand, leading her right up to it. You could see the cracks in the stone that encased the tombs, where it had been broken and patched back up. Elliott didn't look down at the graves, just glanced around them. "You did the right thing." Cordelia said, trying to reassure her.

"Why did you want to see them?" Elliott asked, confused.

"Partially out of respect. They were your parents, and they did a lot for me, more than I think they realize. And partially because you needed to see them." Cordelia responded, looking over at her daughter.

"Do you think they know? About everything?" Elliott asked, and Cordelia understood the loaded question.

"Yes, in some way, I think they do. I think they know the daughter they raised, how good her heart is. I think they knew in some way or another that you would end up back with me, and I think they still love you and are proud of you, no matter what has happened. They are your parents, forever." Cordelia answered. Looking over at Elliott, Cordelia was reminded of just how young the girl really was. As adult as she acted sometimes, or tried to act sometimes, she was still just a child. She looked so small, so innocent. She still was learning, and growing, and for once Cordelia really felt like a parent, not that she didn't normally, but this time it was in a different way, a purer way.

Eventually Elliott was ready to go, walking away from the graves and over to Misty, just out of earshot. Cordelia studied the names etched into the graves, the parents of her daughter, the people she at one time considered family. "She's amazing, you know." Cordelia said, talking to them, "You would love her, everyone does." She traced her fingers over the stone, taking one last look at the graves before walking away, "Thank you."


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for liking this story and being so kind, I really appreciate it! Shit is about to hit the fan, so buckle up and let me know what you think!

"Sorry we're so late. We had a late night… or early morning I guess." Cordelia said, walking into David's hospital room, then looking behind her, "Where did she go?"

"She's easily distracted; she'll walk in eventually." David joked, noticing Cordelia's slightly frazzled appearance, "Everything ok?"

"Yea, John Henry was supposed to call me two hours ago to go over something for the school, but he hasn't called yet so I might have to leave and take it once he finally gets his life together." Cordelia joked.

"Wow, you really are starting to sound like Elliott." David joked, getting a playful glare from the older woman, "I meant with your late night, or early morning?"

"Oh! Yea, I woke up at 4am and Elliott was nowhere to be found, I ended up finding her out on the porch and she refused to come inside." Cordelia said, searching through her phone and furiously texting someone.

"She gets like that sometimes; it doesn't make a lot of sense but it's best to just let her do her thing. Was she ok?" David asked, raising his eyebrows when Cordelia didn't respond.

Finally, she looked up from her phone, "Oh, sorry. I really need to put this down." She set her phone to the side and appeared to try to gather herself, "She's fine. I guess she had a weird dream and that's what set it all off? She was just really edgy, and she told me normally when she got like that she would go somewhere, so she took me and Misty."

David was confused, he knew exactly where Elliott went when she got like that, and he doubted Elliott would ever take Cordelia there, she swore she would never take anyone. "Took you where?" David finally asked.

"The quarry." Cordelia said, "Or at least I think it's called a quarry? That's the only thing I can think of to describe it, but quarries are normally man made and this definitely was not."

"The one by the cemetery?" David asked, just to be sure. Cordelia nodded and his eyes went wide, the shock written all over his face.

"What? Was I not supposed to go?" Cordelia joked as David shook his head.

"No, it's fine. I'm just surprised she took you, she really likes to keep secrets. If she had her way, I wouldn't even know about it." David responded, trying to take the focus off of what was actually a very big deal, but Cordelia could tell by the look on his face that it in fact was.

"It's really that important?" Cordelia asked quietly.

David slowly nodded in return, "It is. She told me she wasn't going to ever tell anyone about it, under any circumstances, because she didn't want anyone to be able to find her. It didn't matter who it was or how much she trusted them, it was her place."

Cordelia nodded in understanding, she knew the place was important, but she really didn't understand the gravity of Elliott showing her. By taking her there, it was Elliott's way of making sure she couldn't ever leave, which made sense given the conversation they had before then. It was big, more than big, and Cordelia couldn't keep the smile off her face.

Finally, Elliott wandered into the room. "Look who decided to show up." Cordelia joked.

"Sorry, I got distracted." Elliott said sheepishly, Cordelia and David throwing each other knowing looks and chuckling, "What?"

"Nothing." Cordelia said as her phone finally rang. "Sorry, I have to take this." She said, walking out of the room.

"Hey, Elle?" David asked, his voice quiet as Elliott looked over at him. He was being weird, more than weird. "Did you tell Cordelia what we talked about?"

"You'll have to be a little more specific." Elliott joked.

"About my medical bills… me not having insurance… not doing rehab?" David asked.

Elliott shook her head, "No, I didn't say anything, although I think you're being stupid."

"Elle I told you, I already couldn't afford the bills I had just from the hospital. There was no way I could do rehab." David said seriously.

"I know. I get it, but you need it." Elliott said, noticing David's timid expression, "Why? Did she say something?"

David shook his head, his voice getting even quieter, "No. I talked with my doctor today, he said everything was paid for, the surgery, the rehab, everything. I asked by who and he wouldn't tell me, but we both know the only person who has that kind of money." Elliott nodded, knowing it absolutely was Cordelia who did it. The young witch had caught on pretty quickly that Cordelia came from money, her and David had briefly discussed it, but it wasn't anything she ever brought up to the supreme, and Cordelia didn't ever talk about it. "She doesn't need to pay for me, I don't want her to. I can take care of it."

Elliott threw a look at him, "You can't take care of it, David. You would be in debt for the rest of your life and you know it. You had what? 100k in bills? You would die before that was paid off."

"You shouldn't have said anything, Elle. It's not her problem." David retorted, thinking Elliott absolutely had to have let something slip.

"I didn't say anything. Not a word, but she isn't stupid, David." Elliott said, "She knew you didn't have insurance with your jobs and there was no way you could afford it. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out." David threw her a look so she continued, "I don't like it either, she should have talked to you, but she also knew you wouldn't agree. It was stupid to not go to rehab; you need it if you want to be able to ever walk right again. That accident almost killed you."

"That accident did kill me." David said, seeing Elliott's confused face.

"Obviously it didn't, you're still here." Elliott said.

"Elle, what did you do?" David asked quietly, causing Elliott's eyebrows to crease. "I saw the scans, I talked with the doctor. There's no way I should have survived that."

"What are you talking about?" Elliott asked, "I didn't do anything."

David let out a sigh, "Yes, you did. I broke my neck and severed my spinal cord, which is fatal, along with a whole host of internal bleeding, and somehow all of that healed itself. I know it was you, it had to be you."

"It had to be a mistake." Elliott said, stunned.

"It wasn't." David responded, "You don't get hit like that, without a seatbelt, get thrown from the car, and live. It just doesn't happen. Tell me what you did."

"I told you, I didn't do anything. I would know if I did." Elliott said, her voice getting edgy the more worked up she got.

"Ok," David said, putting his hands up in surrender, "You didn't do anything, I'll leave it alone. I'm sorry, I'm just confused."

"Did the police come talk to you?" Elliott asked, trying to distance herself from the subject to calm down.

David nodded, "The guy was drunk, he hit us doing 80 in a 45. Lucky for him, he died on impact."

"Or unlucky for him." Elliott said, trying to crack a joke, but instead it came out sinister.

"Considering he already had two DUI's? It was lucky. If he lived not only was he going to jail for a very long time, he was going to have two attempted murder charges on him apparently." David said offhandedly, "Hey, did you take Cordelia to your place?"

Elliott slowly nodded, "Yea, I did."

"You said you weren't going to take anyone there." David replied.

"Are you mad I did?" Elliott asked, she hadn't even thought about how he would feel about it, it technically was his place too.

David let out a breathy laugh, "No, I'm not mad. I'm just shocked. That was your "Oh shit" escape route. I never thought you would give that up."

"If I ever left, you absolutely would take her right to me. It was only a matter of time." Elliott joked.

"No, I wouldn't do that to you. I would go there and get you myself and bring you back." David said seriously.

"No, I just had a weird sort of… awakening, I guess? About it? I wanted to run away, last night, I thought it would be easier, but I realized it would just be easier for me, because then I wouldn't have to fix anything, fix myself. That place has always been my get out of jail free card, everywhere I went I had it hidden in my back pocket. I realized as long as I had that option, I wouldn't actually ever fully commit to anything, invest in anything, because I didn't have to, because there was always an out. So, I got rid of it." Elliott explained.

"It's been six months. Are you going to stick with it?" David asked, remembering the promise Elliott had made to him.

Elliott paused, then slowly nodded, "Yea, I am."

David smiled widely at her, making her sheepishly smile back. "I'm proud of you." He said, "This is good."

"I hope so." Elliott said, Cordelia walking back into the room, "How did it go?"

"New plan, we're closing Hawthorne and telling the warlocks to go fuck themselves." Cordelia said sarcastically, making Elliott raise her eyebrows at the supreme's words, she wasn't one to normally swear.

"Language missy." Elliott joked, getting a glare from Cordelia, "That bad, huh?"

"John Henry is a mess. I'm basically running both schools. We might as well just ship all the boys here." Cordelia explained.

"That might not be a bad idea." Elliott said offhandedly as she stood, "I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back."

Once Elliott had wandered out of the room, Cordelia quickly turned to David, "I don't know what to get Elliott for her birthday."

David let out a laugh. He had expected the conversation to come up sooner or later, Elliott wasn't exactly the easiest person to get information from. "You know she's going to be mad if you get her anything."

Cordelia threw him a look, "I know, but it's her birthday, she's getting something. I already got all the Harry Potter movies, but truthfully that's more of a gift to me than her. If she tries to steal them one more time I think I might have an aneurism." David just smirked so she continued, "She isn't really into clothes or makeup, and every time I bring up anything having to do with her birthday she just blows me off. I don't know what to do. I can't even get her to tell me what kind of cake she wants."

"Ok. Well first, forget the cake, she hates cake. You could try and do an ice cream cake if you really want it, but truthfully you are better off just doing a stack of chocolate chip pancakes. She loves breakfast food more than anything. Trust me, she will be thrilled." David said, making Cordelia chuckle before his tone turned more serious, "She's been blowing you off because she really doesn't know what to do, her birthdays have always been more low-key because of everything and usually she only celebrated it with me, which meant we didn't do a whole lot. If you try and do something crazy and over the top it's just going to freak her out because she doesn't know how to handle it, so no party."

"So what do I do then?" Cordelia asked.

"Honestly, I have no idea. She'll probably be perfectly happy just hanging out and playing with Max. Maybe take her to the bookstore?" David suggested, shrugging his shoulders.

"Do you think she would like it if I got her a camera?" Cordelia asked, catching David off guard, "Madison always made her take pictures of her for Instagram or whatever, she said Elliott was the only one who could get her right angles. She always acts likes she hates it. But, I bought her a new phone, so I backed up the old one to my laptop, and she has thousands of pictures that she's taken. She's actually really good and I think she likes it more than she leads on."

David just smiled at her, "That's perfect. She hates being in front of the camera, but she loves being behind it. She always used to take pictures of me when we were kids on a disposable she found one day. She'll love it."

Cordelia smiled and nodded as a blush creeped up her face. She thought for sure she was reading too much into it, that Elliott would hate it. But, David's confirmation made her feel proud, like she was finally doing something right. "You need to trust yourself more, you know her a lot better than you think you do." David said, noticing Cordelia's reaction.

Cordelia rolled her eyes playfully and nodded as Elliott walked back into the room. "You get lost?" Cordelia joked, getting a glare from Elliott.

"No, the bathroom in the hall was occupied, so I had to find another one." Elliott said, sitting down in a chair.

"You could just use the one in here." David responded.

"I've lived with you long enough to know that is a very bad idea." Elliott joked, making David roll his eyes. The two bickered for another half hour until Elliott noticed the supreme getting antsy, constantly checking her phone. "You need to get back?" Elliott asked, drawing Cordelia's attention toward her.

"Uh, yea, I do. Sorry, John Henry needs me to find some paperwork and he's having a total meltdown." Cordelia said.

"When isn't he having a meltdown?" Elliott joked, "We can go, I'll just be back here tomorrow."

The two women said their goodbyes and headed home, stopping to pick up something to eat on the way. Cordelia had her phone glued to her ear the second they walked into the house, heading towards the kitchen while Elliott wandered towards the stairs, stopping to pet Max at the base. As she finished petting the dog she stood up, catching a young witch wandering out of Cordelia's office, which was unusual. Elliott knew the girls weren't supposed to be in there when the supreme wasn't around, and the two made eye contact briefly before the girl quietly slipped away into her room. For whatever reason, Elliott couldn't think of what her name was, the two had never really interacted and from what Elliott knew the girl mostly kept to herself. She didn't seem completely panicked when she saw Elliott, however, so the young witch just assumed Cordelia told her it was ok as she made a mental note to bring it up later.

For whatever reason, Elliott couldn't get her conversation with David out of her mind, about her doing something to him after the accident. It should have been something she could brush off as a fluke thing, or just being lucky, but truthfully when she found him she was certain he was dead, and that's why it plagued her mind. Surely she couldn't do something and not know about it? You couldn't just bring someone back accidentally, you had to have intention, to be aware of what you were doing, Cordelia told her that the first day she got there. Still, it didn't sit right with Elliott, so she went upstairs into the library to do some research, pulling out every book on resurgence and vitum vitalis she could find, pouring over them for hours as she heard Cordelia fight with John Henry in her office.

Cordelia eventually hung up on John Henry and wandered out, desperately needing a break. She spotted Elliott still in the library, completely surrounded by open books, before wandering down to the kitchen to grab a glass of wine. While seeing Elliott reading wasn't an unusual sight, she normally focused on one book at a time, which peaked the supreme's interest. It looked like she was researching something, or at least looking for something in particular, so Cordelia slowly made her way back up the stairs to check on her. She stood in the doorway for a moment, just studying the girl as she read, her eyebrows creased together in though as she read a passage, shook her head, then set the book down to look at another. "Whatcha doing, kiddo?" Cordelia finally asked, causing her daughter to snap her head up and look at her like a deer in headlights.

"Reading." Elliott said, trying to come off as nonchalant as possible. She wasn't necessarily hiding it from the older woman, she just wanted to actually know what she was dealing with before she brought it up.

"I know you like to read, but fifteen books at once is a little much. Don't you think?" Cordelia said with a smirk, letting Elliott know her plan was foiled as she walked into the room and sat down beside her. "You're looking for something. So, what is it?" She looked down at the sea of open books, trying to see what the commonality was, her face falling slightly when she saw the section titles. Considering what the supreme knew, it definitely looked suspicious, and she worried maybe Elliott knew what she was doing all along. "Vitum vitalis and resurgence, huh?" she said, trying to seem casual about it. It hurt to think that Elliott wasn't being honest with her about her abilities, but she didn't want to jump to conclusions before she heard the girl out. "Why are you looking at that?" she asked quietly.

Elliott looked down, debating with herself on whether or not to be honest. She didn't want to lie to the supreme, but she also didn't even really know what she was dealing with, and she didn't want to sound completely stupid. She glanced back up at the older woman and saw the look in her eyes, she knew something was up, so she chose to be honest. "When you were talking with John Henry, David said something to me… about the accident. Apparently his doctor told him he broke his neck and severed his spinal cord, which I guess is supposed to be fatal. But, it healed itself, I guess? I don't know the specifics of it, but he asked me what I did, and I didn't do anything, or at least I don't think I did." She said. She looked at Cordelia, fully expecting the shock to be written all over her face, but the older woman just nodded slightly, which confused her. Cordelia never had a good poker face, her emotions were always on full display, which had to mean it wasn't new information to her. "You knew." Elliott said, trying to keep her voice as neutral as possible, even though she found herself to be a little angry. How could she know and not say anything?

"Yea, I knew." Cordelia said slowly, noticing the flash of anger in Elliott's eyes, so she tried to save herself by offering an explanation. "The doctor told me when he came in to talk about you when you were sleeping. I didn't want to bring it up then because it wasn't a good time, I wanted to wait until everything had calmed down and we could actually sit down and talk about it."

"You should have told me." Elliott said carefully, her anger bubbling just below the surface.

"I thought you were hiding it from me." Cordelia responded.

"Why would I hide it?" Elliott asked, the irritation peaking its way into her voice.

"Because, Elle, you aren't exactly an open book." Cordelia retorted, which made Elliott look away from the supreme exasperatingly.

"I would have told you." Elliott said indignantly, trying to cover up her hurt. Elliott knew Cordelia wasn't wrong, but she had been working on it and the comment still stung.

The supreme saw the look on Elliott's face, the way she looked around, refusing to make eye contact, and she immediately felt guilty. She knew the comment hurt. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I know it's hard for you, and I know you're trying. I do. I just didn't want to say anything to you until I knew exactly what it was. It's complicated."

"It's not complicated. I looked it up, it was vitum vitalis. It can heal mortal wounds; I just don't know how it happened." Elliott said quietly, looking down at her open books.

"You can't heal yourself with vitum vitalis." Cordelia said softly, making Elliott finally look at her, confused.

"I didn't heal myself?" Elliott said, the statement coming off more as a question.

Cordelia's eyebrows creased as she was quiet for a moment, pursing her lips. Truthfully, she had avoided even thinking about it, the idea of her own daughter's death too painful to even process. "You did." She finally said, "When the doctor was going over your results with me, he showed me your neck x-ray. You and David… you had the exact same break. That's how I found out about his. You also had some internal bleeding that healed itself… the doctor couldn't explain it… he wrote it off as just luck, but it wasn't. You didn't pass out, you died, but somehow you brought yourself back, and I'm not quite sure how."

Elliott sat wide eyed and quiet, processing the new information. Suddenly, it made sense why Cordelia had been so freaked out, why she insisted on Elliott sleeping with her, why she barely let her out of her sight. She died, like actually died. That was a hard pill to swallow. It might have been easier if she hadn't known Cordelia couldn't bring her back, that no one could bring her back, but she knew, and suddenly she was slapped in the face with the fear of her own mortality.

But you're here, it has to be for a reason.

Elliott now understood exactly what Cordelia meant. On top of Elliott's mere existence, which was already mind boggling, she also had completely cheated death with zero explanation for it other than she was meant for something, and that scared her. There was no reason as to why she would be alive, other than her purpose wasn't fulfilled yet, like some prophecy that hadn't come to fruition. With this knowledge, it made sense why Cordelia thought Elliott might be the next supreme, it was the only plausible explanation for everything that happened. But Elliott's mind revolted against the idea. She didn't want it, there was no way she could handle that kind of responsibility, she wasn't a leader. She wasn't Cordelia, not even close.

"So, what does this mean?" Elliott finally asked, terrified of the answer.

"I don't know." Cordelia said honestly, "Misty also brought herself back after she was burned at the stake through resurgence, but she couldn't heal herself. She needed the swamp mud to do that. The only thing I can come up with is that it might have been a combination of both, but I don't know how you could have done it and not been aware. It's something we'll have to look into."

Elliott nodded slightly, not really wanting to continue the conversation, and started closing her many books and putting them away while Cordelia watched her. The older woman could see the stress written on her face, she knew it wouldn't be an easy conversation, but it still hurt her to see her daughter in pain. Death was never an easy thing to deal with, and Cordelia knew it affected her child much deeper than most. She wanted to help her, but she didn't know how, truthfully she too was struggling with it, and she couldn't even help herself. "Oh." Elliott said, "One of the girls came out of your office today when we got home. I didn't know if she was supposed to be in there or not so I thought I should tell you."

Cordelia cocked her head to the side, "Who?" She hadn't told any of the girls to go in there, and it was sort of an unwritten rule that her office was off limits when she wasn't around. She had several spell books and other reading material she kept in there, mostly for the girl's safety, she didn't want them to be messing around with some of the more dangerous parts of magic.

"I don't know her name. I should, but I don't. She's tall, brown hair, really quiet?" Elliott offered, blushing slightly at the admission that she didn't really know who she was.

"Oh, Elenor." Cordelia said dismissively. Normally she would have chided Elliott teasingly about not knowing the other students, but with the way Elliott was acting she really didn't feel it was a good time for that. "I'll talk with her."

Elliott nodded then continued with her work. She didn't want to be a narc, but she knew the types of books Cordelia kept in the office, she had let her read most of them, and she knew if the girls got ahold of them it would be dangerous. Mostly, the books were about dark magic, but Cordelia also kept all of the transmutation and descensum books in there as well, which Elliott completely understood given her past. It wasn't something Cordelia ever talked about with her, but she had gotten the information in bits and pieces from the girls, enough to know that Cordelia's protectiveness of them came with a very reasonable cause.

Cordelia didn't want to leave Elliott, knowing how distressed she obviously was, but she also knew she had to look and make sure everything was accounted for. Begrudgingly, she stood and walked over to the young witch, pulling her into a tight hug and dropping a long kiss into her hair. "It's ok baby. We'll figure it out, ok?" she said as she pulled away, Elliott looking up at her and nodding. The young girl felt stupid for being upset about it, she obviously was perfectly fine, but it was still unsettling. "I love you." Cordelia said, pulling her in for another hug before she left.

"Love you too." Elliott responded as Cordelia walked out the door and disappeared into her office, finishing replacing all the books she pulled out before she went downstairs to play with Max. She found a group of girls already circled around him, and for a moment she debated just going to do something else, but she decided she had to interact with the other girls at some point. She slowly walked over and sat down on the floor by them, Max immediately walking over to her and licking her face. "Hey buddy." She noticed the other girls staring, and she felt her face get warm, "Sorry, didn't mean to take him away from you."

"No it's fine, he's your dog." One of the girls said, and Elliott vaguely remembered someone introducing her as Emma. "How did you convince Cordelia to let you get a pet? She always told us no."

"I found him behind the greenhouse. He was stuck under a tree branch and was really tiny, so we fixed him up and called a vet. I just asked her about it and she said yes, for whatever reason." Elliott explained with a shrug. She really didn't know why Cordelia let her keep him, she was fully expecting her to say no as well.

"She doesn't ever say no to you, does she?" Emma asked. She wasn't being rude, just seemed curious, which was understandable.

Elliott frowned, trying to think of a time Cordelia had actually told her no, but she found she couldn't really think of one. "Not really, but I also don't really ask for all that much I guess."

"You were in foster care, right?" Another girl asked, but for the life of her Elliott couldn't think of her name. Elliott nodded, so the girl continued, "And your Cordelia's actual daughter?" Elliott nodded again. "Bet that must have gone over real well." The other girl said with a snicker.

Elliott shrugged, "It's fine, shit happens."

"Sorry," Emma said, "We don't mean to be intrusive, you've just kind of been this vague secret. No one really explained much to us and you aren't ever really around."

"It's fine, I get it. I would be curious too. I should be around a little more though, once everything calms down." Elliott explained.

"Yea, you were in a car accident, right?" Another girl asked, Elliott nodding in return. "I heard it was pretty bad."

Elliott chuckled a bit, "Yea, it was pretty bad. Definitely not something I would recommend."

"Why aren't you in all the classes with us?" One of the girls asked, and Elliott recognized her from the girls who were talking about her before.

"Uh, I tested out, so I really don't have to take them if I don't want to. I still might though, it's pretty boring with only three classes." Elliott said, making the other girl nod in understanding.

"Are you actually a witch? We haven't seen you use your powers once since the year started." The other girl continued, which made Elliott smirk a little bit.

"Yea, I am. That's how Cordelia found me, I just don't use them when I don't have to." Elliott explained.

"What can you do?" Another girl asked.

"I can get inside people's heads, make them do things. Set things on fire, move things, I'm just not great at that last one." Elliott said with a snicker as Cordelia walked downstairs, her face concerned.

"Emma, do you know where Elenor is?" Cordelia asked.

"She went to bed a few hours ago, why?" Emma responded, and Elliott could see Cordelia debate whether or not to wake her up. Whatever she did, it had to be bad.

The supreme headed up the stairs and Elliott debated following her, but the girls all pulled her attention back. "Do you know what that was about?" Emma asked.

"Elenor was in her office today. It's probably nothing." Elliott said, trying to dismiss it. It was obvious it was more than nothing, but it really wasn't anyone's business. However, a few minutes later Elliott watched Mallory and Coco walk downstairs, their faces obviously concerned.

Elliott stood and went over to them, getting the attention of the other girls. "You can't go up there." Mallory said quietly, making it obvious something was very wrong.

"What's going on?" Elliott asked, Mallory glancing over at the girls and seeing their eyes trained on them, slightly shaking her head.

"Go sit back down." Mallory said seriously.

"No. What's going on?" Elliott said adamantly, her anxiety spiking. She wasn't trying to be difficult or make things harder, she was genuinely worried, and that worry only increased when she heard what sounded like Cordelia crying upstairs. Her head shot up at the noise, which caused Mallory to put her hand on Elliott's shoulder to keep her from bolting.

"She's ok. She's not hurt." Mallory said, trying to reassure her.

"Either tell me what's going on or I'm going up there." Elliott said, getting worked up.

By this point the girls were all solely focused on Mallory and Coco, so with a shared look they made their way over to the couch, pulling Elliott with them. "What's going on?" Emma asked, "Is Elenor ok?"

"Elenor went into Cordelia's office and took a book. She did descensum." Mallory explained, making everyone's eyes go wide. They all knew they weren't supposed to do it, that if they did it and couldn't get back that they were trapped. Cordelia had at least explained that much to them. "You all have to stay down here, out of the way."

"Why would she do that?" One of the girls asked, Mallory shaking her head.

"She thought she was the next supreme." Emma said quietly, "I told her she was crazy, that it wasn't even close to time yet, but she wouldn't let it go. She said no one would listen to her."

The girls all sat in silence for hours, listening to the occasional sounds from upstairs. Every once in a while one of the members of the council would appear, but they never had any good news. Elliott was absolutely itching to run up and help, but she knew she couldn't really do anything, no one could, they just had to hope somehow the girl could make her way back. Eventually, Elliott couldn't just sit there anymore, so she walked into the kitchen, pulling Mallory with her. "Isn't there a spell to bring her back?" She asked.

Mallory's face turned grim, "There is, they've already tried it. It can only bring a soul back if it wants to come back. It's like a call out, but she doesn't have to respond to it if she doesn't want the help, which by the sounds of it she doesn't."

"Isn't there anything else they can do?" Elliott asked.

"Cordelia already wanted to go down there and try to get her back, but the council said no." Mallory explained.

"Why would they say no?" Elliott asked, confused.

"Because even if you can do it, there's still a chance you won't come back. You only have until dawn and she was already short on time. The coven needs her; we can't afford to lose her."

"Can't she overrule them?" Elliott asked, "She's the supreme."

"She could, but she won't." Mallory said.

"Why? She cares about the girls more than she cares about herself." Elliott said, confused. Sure, she didn't like the idea of Cordelia dying, but this was very out of character. Mallory gave her a knowing look, and Elliott had her answer. "Because of me?" She asked, Mallory nodding in return. If Elliott didn't feel guilty before, she certainly felt guilty now. She couldn't stop thinking about how if she had told Cordelia sooner, this never would have happened. It was her fault, and now this girl would probably die because of her.

Suddenly, Queenie appeared in the doorway. "We need you." She said, looking at Elliott, "She's freaking out and no one can calm her down."

Elliott didn't need to be told twice, she upstairs before Queenie had even moved. "No, no, no, no." She heard Cordelia sob, running towards the sound. She saw Cordelia on the floor with Misty in front of what had to be Elenor's bed, the girl lying motionless on top of it, the book she was reading thrown to the floor.

Misty looked up at her and shook her head, she really had no idea what to do, and she moved to the side as Elliott sank down in her place. "Mama, look at me." Elliott said, noticing the supreme hyperventilating. Cordelia didn't move, just sat there, so Elliott took it into her own hands and gently grabbed the supreme's face, forcing her to make eye contact. "Just breathe."

"Not again." Cordelia spit out between breathes, making Elliott realize what had started it all, "Not again."

"I know, I know." Elliott said, tears falling down her face. She hated seeing Cordelia like this, she would do anything to make it all stop. Cordelia looked away from the girl and Elliott quickly pulled her back, "Look at me. Just focus on me. It will be ok. Just breathe. We will figure it out." Cordelia closed her eyes, which only made her panic further. Elliott didn't know what to do, what to say, so she did the only thing she could think of to do, she went in Cordelia's head. She saw the supreme's thoughts, a constant stream of Misty disappearing over and over again. She pulled back for a second, "Look at me. Misty is here, she's back, we got her back. She's with us and she's fine. We can get Elenor back too, we just have to think. It will be ok, I promise you. We will get her back."

That seemed to calm Cordelia down a bit, but she was still completely panicking, so after a few minutes of Elliott doing her best to calm the witch down, she was out of options, pulling out the last thing she had in her arsenal. She quickly went back in the supreme's head and pulled every good memory she could find of Cordelia and Misty: When she came back, their first kiss, flirting in the kitchen, the pet store, the swamp, the street fair, everything. She played them on a continuous loop until she couldn't anymore, pulling back once she felt like she might pass out.

When she came back to reality she was practically keeled over, but it seemed to do the trick, and when she finally got her bearings she realized Cordelia wasn't crying anymore. She looked up at the supreme and saw her staring, everyone was staring. She saw the fear still plastered on Cordelia's face, so she said once again, "It will be ok. We will get her back, one way or another." Cordelia didn't say anything, didn't move, she just stared at her, like she was staring into her soul. "Do you trust me?" Elliott asked, and Cordelia could see the determination on her face. She had to trust her, there was no other option but to trust her, so she slowly nodded her head, obviously dazed. "Good. We will get her back."

Elliott seemed to take total control of the situation, getting Zoe to take over the return spell, repeating it over and over as the hours dragged on. The longer it went, the more empty Cordelia became, like all the life was drained out of her. When the time ticked closer and closer, a few minutes from dawn, Elliott turned her attention back to Cordelia. She sat down in front of her, causing the supreme to stare at her questioningly. "Turn around." Elliott said softly, which only confused the supreme more. "Turn around and close your eyes." Elliott said again, making the older woman realize what she was doing. Cordelia shook her head, so Elliott tried again, "Yes. I'm not letting you see this, not again. Turn around and close your eyes." Cordelia's eyes got teary, but she didn't move an inch, so Elliott tried one last time, "Mama, I can't let you do this. Trust me."

Slowly, Cordelia turned around as Elliott let out a sigh of relief. It still would be hard, but at least this time she wouldn't have it burned into her memory. Elliott grabbed her hand and held it as the clock ticked, watching the sun slowly start to peak up. Zoe was still chanting, which was a good thing, but Elliott knew it was futile. She felt guilty, making promises to Cordelia she didn't know if she could keep, but she knew she had to. She had to figure out some way to make it happen, she couldn't lose Cordelia's trust, not like this. Somehow, she would make it work. As the sun rose, she saw everyone's expressions turn grim, then in a millisecond Elenor's body turned to dust, disappearing without a trace. She felt Cordelia shudder and begin to cry again, and she quickly pulled the supreme into a hug and held her, pressing Cordelia's head to her chest. She tried to soothe her, but she knew nothing would help until Elenor was back. How in the hell would they get her back?

Eventually, Cordelia put herself back together, slowly but surely. "I need to talk to the girls." She said forcefully, "Now." The girls were all gathered in the living room, sitting on the floor with their red rimmed eyes. Elliott joined them and stared up at her mother, the supreme's face hard as stone. She was angry, there was no doubt about it, but she also looked strong, which was a drastic difference from only a few minutes prior. "I know we are all very upset by the death of our sister witch, believe me, but there are a few things I want to make very clear to you all. There is a reason I do not allow you to learn certain types of magic, a reason I'm sure you all know very well now. Descensum is not a spell to play around with, something I thought I had taught you, but I guess not, so let me drill it into your brains. It is not a joke, it is not a way to pass time, it is not something you try on a whim. If I find out anyone has been practicing it, or even thinking about doing it, God help you, you will wish you stayed in hell. Do I make myself clear?"

Her voice was firm, and in that moment, Cordelia was terrifying. Elliott knew she meant her words, and so did everyone else. The girls all nodded, then dispersed slowly as Elliott held back. Finally, Cordelia turned to Queenie, "Get in touch with Grace, and get me a meeting with Papa Legba."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some people on fanfiction have already caught on, but I thought I would let you all know. I hide easter eggs about certain important plot points throughout the chapters, so sometimes if you go back and read them you'll find some. Some are pretty obvious, but the super important ones I've made a little harder to find, so do with that as you will. Yes I'm doing an evil laugh as I'm typing this, but it's fine.


	36. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aye! I finally figured out how to use italics on this! Yay! I'll go back and change the previous chapters so it wont be so confusing, especially with the flashbacks. Anyways, this chapter is messy and shit hits the fan. I know a lot of people will have an issue with angry Cordelia, but the characters are human and they dont always act the way we want them to, her included. It will get better, but for now it's going to be dark and dramatic, because it needs to be. Thank you for being so kind about this story, I'm glad yall like it!

"Oh, I thought you would be asleep by now." Elliott heard Cordelia say, glancing up from her book as the older woman stood in the doorway of the master bedroom.

Elliott glanced at the clock on the nightstand beside her and saw it was almost 2am, three hours past the time she had meant to be asleep by. "Oh, yea. I guess I lost track of time." Elliott said shyly.

It had been three days since the incident, and Elliott found as the days dragged on that she was getting less and less sleep, her own nerves getting the best of her. The nerves were her own doing. It's not like she actually knew what was going to happen, no one on the council was saying anything about the plan to get Elenor back, but Elliott could take a wild guess. She knew enough about Papa Legba from Grace to know he wasn't a particularly generous man, he wouldn't settle for less than a fair trade, and knowing Cordelia's character, that scared the young witch.

Elliott kept mostly quiet about her fears, she knew it was selfish of her and it would just complicate things even further. But, avoiding talking to Cordelia only went so far. The woman could literally feel her every emotion, something she was reminded of when Cordelia quirked her eyebrow and offered the girl a small smirk as she walked into the room. "You're a really bad liar." She said, pulling out a pair of pajamas and walking over to the edge of the bed, "Can you unzip me?"

Elliott nodded and crawled across the bed, reaching for the zipper of the supreme's floor length dress. "I am an excellent liar, by the way. I wasn't lying." She joked, making Cordelia crack a small smile.

"You're worried. I can see it on your face." Cordelia replied.

"I'm always worried." Elliott said softly, unzipping the dress and sitting back on her knees.

Cordelia turned around to face her daughter, gently cupping her face and staring into her icy blue eyes before moving to change, "You're worried about the meeting tomorrow."

"I'm not, not worried about it." Elliott joked half-heartedly as the supreme turned her back to her. "Should I be worried?" Elliott asked softly, making Cordelia sigh as she walked over and sat on the bed.

"You should let  _me_  worry about it." Cordelia finally said, pulling Elliott towards her as she laid on the bed, the young witch's head on her chest as she wrapped her arms around the girl.

"That's not how it works and you know it." Elliott replied teasingly, Cordelia dropping a kiss on her head as the supreme let out a sad laugh.

"I know. But you shouldn't worry, I won't let anything happen that would harm you or any of the girls, I won't put any of you at risk." Cordelia finally said. She knew the answer wouldn't suffice, but it was complicated, and she didn't want to make promises to Elliott that she couldn't keep. It was better to get in there and figure out what was necessary, then explain it after the fact.

"I wasn't worried you would." Elliott said quietly, looking up at the older witch.

"How in the world did I manage to get a child with blue eyes?" Cordelia asked, trying to change the subject. She saw pain flicker across Elliott's eyes, but the girl quickly recovered after realizing she wasn't going to get the answer she wanted.

"Who knows, maybe I'm not yours." Elliott teased, causing Cordelia to hold her tighter.

"You definitely are mine, but the eyes are all your father. My family has had brown eyes for over six generations." Cordelia said.

"Do I need to teach you how genetics works?" Elliott asked sarcastically, Cordelia rolling her eyes in return.

"I know how genetics work." Cordelia said.

"Obviously not." Elliott responded, Cordelia eyeing her.

"Maybe you aren't my child. You're too sassy to have come from me." Cordelia teased, Elliott throwing her a smirk.

"I learned it from Fiona." She replied, making Cordelia laugh.

"You turn out like Fiona and I'll kill you myself." Cordelia said jokingly.

Elliott let out a scoff, "Aren't you supposed to love me unconditionally?"

Cordelia smirked, "I'll still love you, but I'll be damned if I let history repeat itself. Not on my watch."

Elliott laughed, then was quiet for a moment, "Just… don't do anything reckless, ok?"

Cordelia looked down, seeing the worry in her daughter's eyes, "I won't. I would never put the coven at risk, not for one girl."

"I'm not worried about the coven. I'm worried about  _you_." Elliott responded, which made Cordelia sigh.

"I won't do anything crazy, but I do have to put the coven first, even if I don't want to. It's my job babe, it's not always fun." Cordelia said, knowing the answer wouldn't suffice for the young girl.

"It's  _never_  fun." Elliott said, making Cordelia chuckle. "I just don't get why she would do it. I mean, who wants to go to their personal hell just for fun? I get that she wanted someone to pay attention, but there's a lot of other ways she could have done it that wouldn't be as traumatizing for  _everyone_."

"People can do some really strange things when they want power. Fiona was willing to kill everyone to keep it, and Madison was willing to let Zoe and Misty die just so she could have it. It changes people." Cordelia said seriously, thinking back.

"Yea, neither of those surprise me." Elliott joked.

"Yet you are so fond of Madison." Cordelia joked back, making Elliott scoff.

"Maddie is at least upfront about the fact that she would willingly sacrifice me for a pair of shoes. I'm not worried about her, I'm more worried about the ones that seem nice then slit your throat in your sleep." Elliott said seriously.

"So you're perfectly ok with her killing you for shoes?" Cordelia asked, laughing.

"As long as they're cute." Elliott said with a shrug, Cordelia snickering as she kissed the top of Elliott's head. "Is your personal hell really that bad?" She asked, looking up.

"It depends on who it is. It's a sort of relative thing, what's bad for you isn't necessarily bad for someone else. Madison's was getting a subpar part in the sound of music, Zoe's was her and Kyle breaking up, and Queenie's was a never ending rush at a restaurant." Cordelia explained, Elliott snickering at Madison's hell.

"So it depends on how shallow you are?" Elliott joked, Cordelia laughing and nodding in return.

"I guess so." She said.

"What was yours?" Elliott asked, curious.

Cordelia hesitated before speaking "Me trying to gain Fiona's approval and getting bitch slapped for it." She finally said with a chuckle as Elliott looked up at her wide eyed.

"Why did I even ask? I should've known." She said with a chuckle, shaking her head. "I don't even want to know what mine is, although I'm sure it will change over time."

"You think it changes?" Cordelia asked.

"I mean, it has to. The more life you live the more you evolve. I can't imagine Fiona slapping you would still be your biggest fear." Elliott explained, "Madison's, however, would probably be the exact same. I don't think she'll ever have a bigger fear than not being the center of attention."

"No, I think it's changed. You didn't know her before; she's grown a lot. She's not as heartless as she used to be, believe it or not." Cordelia said, shocked that the words were actually coming out of her mouth.

"I'm sorry, did you just say something kinda nice about Madison?" Elliott joked, causing Cordelia to tickle at her sides, "Knock it off!"

The two talked for a while until Cordelia glanced down mid conversation and found the young witch to be fast asleep. The supreme briefly considered just going to sleep herself, but in truth she was nervous about the following day as well. Partly it was because she didn't think she could possibly get Elenor back, and partly it was that she felt like her mother, selling her soul, although it was for a drastically different reason. The council was all reluctant to let her do it, even offering their souls as substitutes, but Cordelia couldn't condemn another one of the girls for the sake of her own sanity. It was her neglectfulness that got Elenor into this situation, it was her responsibility to bring her back.

She stared down at her sleeping child and her heart hurt. She should have known Elliott would be more aware of what was going on, of what was going to happen, she grew up learning the voodoo side of things. She wished she could quell her fears, tell her there was nothing to worry about, but she really had no idea what would happen. The council had set out some firm guidelines for what Cordelia could and couldn't agree to, but they weren't going to be in the meeting and words could only go so far. Cordelia felt like she was walking a tightrope, trying to figure out what was best for the coven and what was best for Elliott. They never seemed to line up, as much as Cordelia wished they would, and no matter how much Cordelia prepared for every possible scenario, there was no way of knowing just how far she would go in that meeting.

For a moment, she considered just leaving Elenor. It was horrible to think about, but truthfully it was the best way to make sure something like this never happened again, making an example of her. It's what Fiona would have done, but truthfully Cordelia couldn't live with herself without knowing she did everything she could to get her back, even if her attempts were futile.

Eventually, the sun rose and Cordelia had to disentangle herself from her sleeping daughter, even though she really didn't want to. It wasn't an easy task, every time Cordelia even tried to pull away Elliott's grip on her tightened, and once she had gotten herself away from the girl and laid her on the bed she heard the young witch whimper in her sleep, which was almost enough to convince Cordelia to climb back into bed with her. When the whimper didn't turn into anything more the supreme finally headed off to her study, pouring over her many books for any other ways of getting the lost witch back, but coming up with nothing once again.

Around 10am, Misty happened to pass by the supreme's room, glancing in and seeing Elliott sitting straight up in bed, her face sweaty and ghostly pale. It was obvious she had just woken up from a nightmare, so the older witch entered the room, forcing her to make eye contact. "Ya alright?" Misty asked gently, Elliott slowly nodding in return, "Ya sure?"

"Yea. I'm fine. It's nothing." Elliott answered.

"Ya didn't tell me your nightmares came back." Misty said, eyeing the girl suspiciously.

Elliott shook her head, "They didn't."

"They obviously did, unless ya snuck out ta a sauna while we weren't lookin'." Misty countered.

Elliott shook her head again, "No, this wasn't one of those. It was different. Just a bad dream I guess."

"About what?" Misty asked, curious, "Cordelia?" Elliott stared at her a moment, not wanting to answer, which gave Misty her answer. "Ya aren't good at hidin' ya feelings darlin'. Everyone knows ya are upset."

"I'm fine. Nothing is probably going to happen anyways." Elliott said quietly, "I need to get up and moving, it's late."

"It's barely 10." Misty said.

"I know." Elliott responded, throwing Misty a look before getting up and heading for the shower, leaving the swamp witch on her own.

Elliott spent a few hours hanging out in the kitchen with everyone until she saw Grace appear in the doorway, her stomach dropping. The two chatted for a few moments until Cordelia appeared at the top of the stairs, at which time Grace headed to her office and Elliott took off for the greenhouse, feeling her anxiety starting to peak. She hated feeling out of control, and she really didn't want there to be a crowd in case she couldn't keep herself in check. That solitude, however, was quickly interrupted when Madison came strolling in. "Hey loser, you good?"

Elliott rolled her eyes and turned to face the girl, "I'm fine. You stuck babysitting me?"

"I'm not "stuck" doing anything, but I know you're losing your shit. Figured I could help you calm down." Madison snarked.

"No offense Maddie, but you are the last person that would calm me down." Elliott said sarcastically, Madison smirking at her in return.

"You're right, but if all else fails, I have the booze." Madison said, making Elliott laugh a bit.

Meanwhile, Grace and Cordelia were getting everything ready in her office. "You sure you want to do this? Papa isn't exactly known for being a very forgiving man." Grace said.

Cordelia thought for a moment, but nodded anyways, "It's the only option I have. I have to at least try."

Grace nodded and the two sat down, Grace starting the chant. The blinds were all drawn so the room was in total darkness, apart from the candles that were lit. Finally, after a few moments of chanting, A shadow appeared, materializing into a man with bright red eyes and a face that resembled a skull. "Ah, the witch queen. I was waiting for you." He said, "You want your girl back."

Cordelia felt like she was shaking, but she tried to appear strong, "I want to make a deal."

Papa laughed, "I figured you would. But I've learned very quickly that you witches aren't exactly good for your end of the bargin, so you'll have to be very convincing. I don't release a soul without a price."

Fiona flashed through Cordelia's mind, of course she wouldn't keep her end of the deal. Still, the supreme pressed on, "I think you'll find I'm a woman of my word."

Papa smirked, "Ah, you think because I released your other lost witch that you can sell me. I'm not so easily bought. I should have taken her back when your witch broke her deal, but what can I say, even a demon has a soft spot." For a second, Cordelia let a look of confusion cross her features, Misty hadn't said anything about making a deal, but she quickly recovered, so Papa continued, "What will you give me for her?"

"Me." Cordelia said simply.

Papa laughed, "You? Why would I want another witch queen to deal with?"

"I'm the most powerful witch on earth." Cordelia responded, slightly stunned.

Papa smirked, then let out a menacing laugh, "We both know that's not the case. At least, not for much longer. You are only powerful as long as you are alive. After, you are no use to me."

"Another supreme won't rise for years." Cordelia said, confused.

"You are right, but I wasn't talking about the supreme. I have no use for light magic, all you queens are the same. You were willing to sell your soul for one girl. That tells me you won't do well for me in the underworld. I made that mistake with the voodoo queen, now she is another problem I have to deal with. I won't make that mistake again." Papa said.

"So what do you want?" Cordelia asked, confused.

Papa thought for a moment, just staring coldly at the witch in front of him. "Your girl." He finally said.

Cordelia's jaw dropped, "I won't give you one of my girls. You want a soul, take mine."

"Not one of your girls,  _your_  girl." Papa said, Cordelia's eyes going wide in horror as Grace just stared.

"No." Cordelia said firmly.

Papa laughed, "I thought you would say that. But it is my offer. She has already proven herself useful to me."

"She would be of no use to you. She doesn't have the heart for it." Cordelia spat, angry.

"She already has shown she has the heart for torture, just not to you." Papa said knowingly, "Tell me, do you know how you got your lost witch back? Or has she kept it from you?" Cordelia didn't say anything, just sat there in shock, "She hasn't, has she?"

"What are you talking about?" Cordelia asked, crossing her arms in front of her.

Papa didn't respond right away, just lit a cigar, inhaling then blowing the smoke into the air, "I found your girl wandering the underworld, and we made a deal. She wasn't to come back, and you got your lost witch. She broke her deal, many times over. She is lucky I'm fond of her. Her visiting your mother has helped me tremendously. It's difficult work, torturing someone without a soul, but I've found your old witch queen does possess some humanity."

"Elliott can't go to the underworld. She doesn't have the power." Cordelia said in disbelief.

"That's what she made you think. For a witch queen, I thought you would be smarter, or at least more aware. You wanted a deal? I gave one to you. Give me her, and you will get your lost witch." Papa said, "I do need another helper."

"No. I won't condemn my child. She's 15." Cordelia said, anger bubbling in her veins.

Papa let out a tsk, "You are still in denial. You know what she is, and you know she's mine either way. I'm being generous with this offer. We both know she isn't long for this world; you can't save her. it has already been decided. Give her to me, this is your last chance."

"No." Cordelia spat, not even thinking the answer through before it left her lips.

Papa just stared at her, a smirk permanently etched on his face, "Then this is done."

In an instant, he was gone, the candles blown out, bathing the room in darkness. Cordelia was quick to flick on the lights, standing up before flicking her wrist and sending everything on her desk flying. "Cordelia, what did he mean?" Grace asked, shocked by the whole encounter.

"I don't know." Cordelia spat, pacing back and forth. None of this made any sense to her.

"He said you did know." Grace responded.

"He's a demon." Cordelia said sharply.

"But he isn't a liar." Grace said honestly, causing Cordelia to look at her. "He's not. He wouldn't even know about Elliott unless he had seen her for himself."

Cordelia rested her arms on the back of her chair, putting her weight onto it, "Elliott wouldn't send herself down there, she doesn't even know how. She told me she doesn't even want to know what her personal hell is."

"He said she was in other's hell. He never said she was in hers." Grace responded, "She's a resourceful kid."

"I know that." Cordelia said sharply, dropping her head and staring at the floor.

"Did you let her read the books?" Grace asked, taking Cordelia's lack of response as a yes, "She could have figured it out from there."

"I know my kid." Cordelia said softly.

"So do I." Grace responded, "Elliott plays by her own rules, she always has. She can play the part but she doesn't stick to it. It's not your fault, she's only loyal to herself. She doesn't see the damage she does."

Cordelia didn't know what to do, she couldn't even think, the edges of her vision turning white with the anger that pumped through her veins. Had Elliott been lying to her this whole time? She had seemed so nervous about the meeting, and Cordelia thought it was because of her, but maybe that wasn't the case. Maybe that to was a lie, a cover up. Maybe Elliott was nervous that she would be found out. "Cordelia," Grace said, drawing her out of her thoughts, "What did he mean by it already being decided? About knowing what she was?"

"I don't know. We thought Elliott might be the next supreme, but it's still too early to tell." Cordelia answered, shrugging her shoulders, "It doesn't make sense, what he said. If she was the supreme then she wouldn't be of use to him for years."

"He said he has no use for light magic." Grace said, "But he has use for her, so she can't be."

Cordelia just shook her head, she didn't want to talk anymore, she felt like she was one wrong move away from snapping. She just needed to think. Grace took the hint, muttering something about needing to get back to the shop, then disappeared down the stairs.

Cordelia willed herself to calm down, before she spiraled out of control. She tried to make excuses, that Elliott was just a kid, she didn't know, that it was all just a mistake, but it couldn't be a mistake. You couldn't enter the underworld without saying the incantation, it just wasn't possible. The supreme partially blamed herself, she had been the one to let Elliott read the books, coincidentally right before Misty wandered back into their lives. She thought Elliott could handle it, that she was responsible enough. She told her, very clearly, that it wasn't something she was to mess around with, that it was dangerous. She had specidically outlined everything that could go wrong, everything that  _had_ gone wrong. She thought Elliott understood. Oh, how wrong she was.

_There's a reason why every time I dream of her she's in hell, because I know that's exactly where she belongs._

The young witch had been telling her this whole time, she had just been blind to it. She was blind to everything the girl did. It was right there in front of her face, and she still missed it. Elliott had been going to hell. She had been the reason Misty was released. She had been visiting Fiona. She watched Cordelia break down. She knew what Misty's disappearance did to the supreme, and she didn't care. There was no way it was an accident. Once maybe, the accidental muttering of the incantation, but not multiple. Elliott planned it, there was no doubt about that.

The part that hurt the most was Cordelia did know, she just didn't want to believe it. She knew in her gut, that morning in the hotel room, that something was wrong, that Elliott  _did_  something, and she let it go. She let it go because she didn't think the girl could ever do that to her, but she was doing it right in front of her. Right under the supreme's nose. Everything was right under her nose, and Cordelia was blind to it, because she thought better of her child.

The supreme was angry, but she was also hurt. She felt played, manipulated by her own kid, and it killed her. It made her so angry she wanted to scream. She could feel her blood boiling, the edges of her vision turning a redish black. She had never understood the term "seeing red" until then. Elliott wasn't stupid, it wasn't just a childish mishap or a cry for attention like it had been with Elenor. She hid it, for months. She lied, for months, and that was enough to make the supreme snap, storming out of her office and down the stairs.

She ran into Mallory and Misty in the kitchen, and they could practically see the smoke coming out of her ears. "Dee?" Misty asked cautiously.

"Where's Elliott?" Cordelia seethed, staring hardly at the swamp witch, who didn't respond. Misty had only ever seen Cordelia that angry a few times, one of which being when Elliott had left the house. She didn't get angry often, but when she did she was terrifying.

Cordelia didn't even wait for a response; she didn't need one to know where Elliott was. She quickly took off for the back door as Misty trailed behind, begging for the supreme to talk to her. She quickly spotted the girl working at a table through the open door of the greenhouse, and she beelined for her. Elliott looked up and spotted her, a wave of emotions crossing her features, rapidly changing from relief to concern to confusion as the witch stomped toward her. She briefly flicked her gaze to Madison, who was just out of sight, thinking it was her who had done something, but that all quickly changed when the supreme went straight for her, screaming, "What the hell did you do?"

Elliott snapped her gaze up as the supreme continued to charge at her, quickly stepping back every time Cordelia moved toward her, but the older witch didn't let up. She quickly glanced over at Misty, the panic and confusion evident on her features. "Cordelia, what the fuck?" Madison said, starting to move to stand between the two, but Cordelia shoved her out of the way, which just scared Elliott more.

"Did you really think I wouldn't find out? I told you not to mess with it, I made myself perfectly clear. But you just didn't care, did you?" Cordelia screamed, backing Elliott into a corner.

"What are you talking about?" Elliott asked loudly, her voice wavering as her panic rose.

"You know exactly what I am talking about." Cordelia said, her voice getting deathly low before it rose again, "Don't play dumb, Elliott."

Elliott flicked her gaze to Misty once again, begging her to step in. "Dee…" Misty began, only to be cut off.

"No, I'm not going to calm down. She knew exactly what she was doing, it wasn't an accident. She lied, for months." Cordelia began, her voice still loud and seething. "You want to tell everyone how we got Misty back? How you went to the underworld after I explicitly told you not to? How you made a deal with Papa Legba and  _broke_  it? How you went back, over and over again to see my  _mother_?"

Elliott's face dropped, the realization slapping her in the face. It wasn't a dream, everyone told her it wasn't a dream, she just didn't want to believe it. She scrambled, trying to muster up an explanation, although she knew it wouldn't matter. Cordelia was furious, and Elliott's brain was too frazzled to say anything, stuttering out, "I…I…"

"Don't even bother lying. It was just a dream, huh? You can't cast yourself down to hell on accident, you have to say it, and I know you knew that. So what's your next lie?" Cordelia barked, stepping deathly close to Elliott's face. "God fucking damnit Elliott! You knew! You knew and you did it anyways because you only care about yourself and what you want." Cordelia screamed, backing away from the girl and turning her back, quickly lashing out and sending a series of pots flying to the floor, shattering on impact.

That was it, that was Elliott's undoing. She felt the blood rush to her ears, her chest tighten, her breath get faster.  _Do not have a panic attack, not right now._  Cordelia kept screaming, but Elliott couldn't even focus on what she was saying, she was just trying to keep herself from falling apart. She couldn't do it, not right there, and not right in front of Cordelia.

"They told me, everyone told me what you were! But I didn't listen! You played me, for months, all to get what you want! I trusted you." Cordelia screamed, not paying attention.

"Cordelia. Stop." Misty said firmly, causing the supreme to glance over at her and then at the girl, letting out an angry huff.

"She's faking. She's caught and she doesn't want to deal with it. Don't let her fool you." Cordelia spat.

"You've gone too far. Maddie, take her outta here." Misty said, Madison quickly grabbing Elliott and doing her best to lead her from the greenhouse, taking her to her room.

"I'm taking her out of school and binding her powers. She obviously can't handle them and I'm not about to have a Fiona reincarnate wandering around." Cordelia seethed, pacing back and forth, oblivious to the swamp witches anger.

"You really think you can bind her powers? Our magic doesn't work on her." Misty said shortly.

"I'll figure it out." Cordelia spat back.

"Cordelia, what the fuck is the matter with ya?" Misty yelled, catching the older witch by surprise.

"What is the matter with me? What is the matter with her!" She fumed.

"I don't know. Ya didn't even give her a chance ta talk before ya were screamin' ya bloody head off. That's not ok." Misty said, her words sharp and biting.

"She lied to me, Misty. She's been lying this whole time. She doesn't care about anyone else, she never has. It's all a game to her." Cordelia said, her voice lowering from a scream but her words still filled with venom.

"Stop sayin' that. You can't talk about her like that, you know it isn't true." Misty said.

"It is true! They told me it was true!" Cordelia said, her voice cracking.

"Who? Papa Legba and the voodoo queen? If ya really are listenin' to a demon then ya aren't who I thought ya were, at all. You know better." Misty spat.

"Why would they lie to me?" Cordelia asked, "They have nothing to gain from it."

"They have everythin' ta gain, Dee. He's a demon, and I wouldn't trust Grace farther than I could throw her." Misty said.

"What are you saying? That I'm wrong here?" Cordelia asked, offended.

"I'm sayin' ya made friends with the enemy and ya let them get inside ya head. They know Elliott's the strongest we have, and a good way ta get rid of her is ta do exactly what ya just did." Misty spat, "They played ya like a fiddle and ya fell right into it. What did they do? Give you some vague bullshit to scare ya, then ask ya questions until ya got worked up? Ya attacked her, Dee, without a second thought. Ya even thought she was fakin' her panic attack when it was right in front of ya face. Ya told me ya self ya saw it happen before when somethin' broke, was she tryin ta get out of somethin' then?"

Cordelia stopped, the guilt creeping up in the back of her throat. Misty was right, she played right into it. "It wasn't an accident, Mist." She finally said quietly, her voice wavering as she tried to hold back tears.

"Maybe it wasn't, it certainly doesn't look like it, and if it's true ya got every right to be mad at her, but not like that. She doesn't deserve that, no one does." Misty said, her voice still firm, but less angry.

"It's not just anger." Cordelia began, "I could deal with just being mad at her. It's more than that. I'm scared, and I'm angry that I'm so scared, because she knew what she was doing, she did, but I'm still terrified to lose her." Misty's hard stare softened as she watched the supreme break, the real reason behind her seething anger being revealed. It didn't make it ok, but it at least allowed Misty to understand why she completely lost it. "She knew how much losing you affected me, how terrified I was of everything happening again, and she didn't care about me, but I still care about her. You saw what happened with Elenor, I couldn't do anything, I just froze."

Misty stood quiet for a moment, she knew her death hurt the supreme, but she didn't realize how much until then, "It really messed ya up that bad?"

Cordelia let out a sad, strangled laugh, "Yea. I didn't know it, at least I pretended not to know it. It was easier to avoid when it wasn't right in front of my face, dealing with it again. I was just keeping the girls safe, that's why I got so worried, or at least that's what I told myself. But I knew, and Elliott knew, and yet she still did it."

"This doesn't make sense, none of it. She wouldn't do that ta ya, not on purpose." Misty said, confused.

"But she did. There isn't another way, she had to know. There's a reason we can't just do it, why we have to say the words. Our magic is rooted in light, and the underworld is dark magic. It's not in our normal scope of powers. She did it, and now he wants her." Cordelia said, shaking her head as tears rolled down her face.

"What? He wants Elliott?" Misty asked, shocked.

Cordelia nodded, "I offered him my soul, for Elenor. He said he didn't want it, that he wanted her, and I don't know why, or I didn't. She seemed too good, but now everything seems like a lie. I told him no, he couldn't have her, and he told me she was going to be his anyways, that she wasn't long for this world. And I can't help but think that he's right. You aren't guaranteed to come back every time, not from that, and I can't save her." Cordelia stopped, willing herself to not break down, but it was futile, and soon she was sobbing. "She's going to die, he's going to get her." She cried, Misty walking over to her and pulling her into a hug. It was obvious she cared about Elliott, more than anything, and she was terrified.

Eventually, Cordelia got all her tears out, all her fears, and she instantly felt all her guilt coming back, rethinking all the terrible things she said. "I have to go talk to her." She finally said, pulling away from Misty.

"No." Misty said, cutting Cordelia off as she went to argue, "You are stayin' as far away from her as possible right now. Ya can't just lose ya shit on her then come back and try ta make ya self feel better about it. It's not fair. Ya got upset and ya made her upset, ya both need time and space ta think about it before ya even consider talkin'. I'll go check on her."

Back at the house, Elliott was on the floor in her room in the fetal position, having a full blown panic attack that Madison couldn't stop for anything. "Elle, you have to calm down. It's going to be ok." Madison tried again.

"I…. can't…" Elliott said, her voice horse and strangled as she sobbed. She had been on the floor for close to a half hour, just sobbing. She couldn't control it, as hard as she tried, and she wished her body would just give up and let her pass out so it would be over, but it didn't. She had told Madison to close and lock the door, she didn't want Cordelia to follow her and keep yelling, or worse for her to try and comfort her, she wanted to be as far away from her as possible.

Madison heard a knock on the door and stood to answer it, disregarding Elliott's cries for her not to. She opened the door a crack and saw it was Misty, opening it wider once she didn't see the supreme anywhere in sight. "I can't get her to calm down, neither could David when I called him. I don't know what to do." Madison said as Misty walked into the room, immediately dropping to eye level with the girl.

"Close the door." Elliott said, her voice high pitched and pleading.

"She won't bother us, don't ya worry." Misty offered.

"I don't want her to see it." Elliott said, breaking out into new sobs, which only made Misty's heart break.

"She won't. Now, let's worry about ya. What's goin' on?" Misty asked.

"I don't know I don't know I don't know." Elliott sobbed, pulling away when Misty tried to reach for her.

"Ok, ok. Let's get ya settled down first then we'll talk about it, alright? But ya gotta let me help ya darlin'." Misty said, reaching for Elliott once again, but she resisted, shaking her head. "Babe, I know ya aren't fakin'. Let me help ya. I hate seein' ya like this."

Finally, Elliott let Misty hold her and try to calm her down, which didn't happen for quite some time. What the witches didn't know was Cordelia was at the base of the stairs the entire time, watching the whole encounter as her heart broke. She hated seeing her daughter like this and it just made it worse that she was the one to cause it. Elliott's words about not wanting her to see it ripped right through her, and it stung, but she deserved it and she knew it, she just couldn't get past Elliott obviously lying to her. She was still furious, but she also was guilty, and it was tearing her in two completely different directions. She had lost Elliott's trust, but Elliott had also lost hers, and she wasn't sure what to do. She knew she needed to apologize, but she couldn't just push this under the rug, not when it was so dangerous. Once it looked like Elliott had started to calm down, Cordelia finally stopped her torture and headed back out to the greenhouse, trying to think of what to do while Misty handled Elliott.

"Ok, so what's goin' on?" Misty asked again, after Elliott was decently calmed down and more aware, handing her a glass of water she got from the kitchen.

"I don't know." Elliott said, her eyes still glassy as she shook her head.

"You have to know somethin', Elle." Misty said.

"Does it even matter? No one's going to believe me, not after that." Elliott said, her voice wavering.

"Well it's worth a shot, yea? Just tell me what happened." Misty said, her voice soft to try and quell the girl's fears, "Did ya do it? What she said ya did?"

"I guess so? I didn't mean to, I didn't say the words or anything, I knew she would be so upset. I thought it was a dream. They told me it wasn't, that I was in hell, but I didn't believe it." Elliott finally said, shaking her head as she looked down.

"You have to say the words ta do it, Elle." Misty said a little sternly.

"I know, but I didn't, at least I don't think I did. I don't know, I can't give you an explanation. I kept having the same dream, over and over again, and when I woke up it felt like I hadn't slept. She thought I was keeping myself up, but I wasn't, not that time. The night you came back, I had the dream, and I walked in and found you, then some guy showed up. I tried to help you and he stopped me, so I told him to do it. He said he wouldn't release anyone without a price, and he told me if I didn't come back he would let you go. I didn't think any of it was real, so I agreed, then I woke up and I got sick. I thought it was just a weird coincidence, you coming back, so I let it go and didn't say anything. I should've said something and I know that, but I didn't. Then I kept having dreams of Fiona, usually just when I was upset. She told me I was in hell, but I thought it was just a joke, something I made up in my head. You think if I knew I was doing it I would have told Cordelia? I told her I had a dream about Fiona, I wasn't hiding it." Elliott said, getting frustrated with herself. She knew the story sounded made up, but it was all she had.

"I have ta go talk ta Dee about this. If ya are lyin', now would be the time ta tell me. If ya tell the truth now we can figure it out, but if ya don't and she finds out its just gonna be a whole lot worse." Misty said, still not fully believing the girls story.

"I'm not lying. Believe me, if I was, I would have come up with a much better story than that one." Elliott said quietly, feeling defeated.

Misty nodded then got up, heading out to find the supreme in the greenhouse. She relayed what she was told to the older witch, who just sat with her head in her hands. "It's not possible, Mist. She has to be lying."

"I know, but that's the story she's stickin' to. I know it's never happened before, but there's a lot of stuff with her that's never happened before. She's a special case and ya know it, so we can't rule it out." Misty said quietly, resting her elbows on the table.

"I know she is, but this doesn't make any sense. It would be easier if she just came clean, then we at least knew how to deal with it." Cordelia said, conflicted. She wanted to believe her, but everything she knew told her it was a lie.

"So how do we figure it out then?" Misty asked, looking towards Cordelia, who shrugged.

"I don't know. I guess I'll have to watch her, all the time." Cordelia finally said.

"Ya can't always watch her, ya gotta sleep, and right now I don't think she's gonna be too keen on bein' anywhere near ya." Misty said.

"She's going to have to deal with it. I can't believe her unless I see it for myself. She supposedly does it when she's sleeping, so I'll just have her sleep with me and I'll have to check on her throughout the night." Cordelia offered, shaking her head. It wasn't the best option, but it was the only one that would do. "I'll apologize to her for what I said, I know I was wrong and I feel awful, but I have to keep her with me."

"What about ya work trip? Aren't ya supposed ta go see the boys?" Misty asked.

"I'll have to take her with me, I guess." Cordelia responded.

"You'll have ta talk ta her about that one." Misty said.

"I'll do it." They both heard Elliott say, turning to see her standing in the doorway.

"Elle…" Cordelia said, starting the words to an apology, but Elliott held out her hand.

"Save it. I'll stay with you, go with you, if it will prove it to you. I'm not lying." Elliott said, her words having a slight edge, but also sounding worn down.

"But we need to talk." Cordelia said, trying to get Elliott to listen to her, to hear her out.

"I don't want your apology, I'm over it. Honestly, I don't really care anymore. I'm tired, and I'm going to bed. Goodnight." Elliott said, quickly turning on her heels and leaving the two witches alone once again.


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok I have another update! Thanks for liking this story so much! I might not be able to update for a little while. My dog is really sick and we have to put her to sleep, so I'm not sure if I'll be in any state to write, but I'll try.

Over the next few days, Elliott had decided to keep her distance from Cordelia, at least as much as she could. During the day it was relatively easy, Cordelia stayed in her office working and Elliott kept to the library. Cordelia was keeping her word on pulling Elliott out of school, she wasn't allowed anywhere near the classes, which meant she had to avoid the greenhouse for the majority of the day, and it was driving Elliott nuts. So nuts she ran out of things to do around the house and succumbed to watching soap operas during the day, and worse, she was starting to  _like_  them. Since she really didn't have anything else to do, she mostly chose to sit outside with Max and talk to David on the phone. Normally, she would have asked Cordelia to go visit him, but considering the events that had transpired, Elliott wasn't in the mood to ask Cordelia about  _anything_ , so that meant no visits.

It wasn't like the two didn't talk at all, they did, but it was extremely limited. So limited, in fact, that it fell into two categories: Cordelia trying to apologize, and Cordelia telling Elliott to do something. The first took up a much larger chunk of conversation than the latter, as the latter was Cordelia asking Elliott to do something and her just doing it, it was easier than arguing. Cordelia trying to apologize was where it got dicey, and it never ended well. It was obvious the older witch was still upset, so her attempts to apologize didn't exactly sit well with Elliott, it seemed more for her own peace of mind as opposed to her actually meaning it. Frankly, Elliott wasn't ever really sure she would believe the woman even if she gave her the time to apologize, regardless of the circumstances. Usually, Cordelia would try to initiate the conversation, and Elliott would shut it down immediately, which would result in Cordelia continuing to push until one of them snapped and they fought, at which time one of the witches, usually Misty, would break it up and the two would avoid each other until bedtime. It was a routine everyone at the house had gotten used to, and it was trying on all of them.

Cordelia was at her wits end with the entire thing, finally cornering Elliott one night in the library. "Elliott, will you just let me talk?" She asked, staring at the young witch.

"No." Elliott responded, not even looking up from her book.

"I just want to apologize…" Cordelia began before Elliott quickly looked up and cut her off.

"I don't want your apology." She said firmly, giving the supreme a hard stare.

"Elle, we've done this a hundred times and every time it just ends in a fight." Cordelia tried again, her tone irritated.

"So then let's not do this. Problem solved." Elliott responded, turning her attention back to her book.

"It doesn't have to be this way." Cordelia said sharply, tired of the girl's attitude.

"Do you still think I'm lying?" Elliott asked pointedly, Cordelia sitting silent, "Then it does have to be this way."

"If you would just let me explain myself…" Cordelia began, only to be cut off again.

"You made yourself perfectly clear the first time." Elliott said shortly. Normally, she would have just gotten up and walked away, but she really was sick of having to change what she was doing just to avoid the older witch. It wasn't like there was much she could do to begin with.

"Elle, I was mad. I didn't…" Cordelia said.

"You what? Didn't mean it? You meant it. Every fucking word." Elliott said, her voice dropping to a mutter at the last bit.

"Language." Cordelia said sternly, Elliott throwing her a glare before rolling her eyes.

"Just quit. I don't want to hear it. You aren't sorry, you just want to make yourself feel better about it, and right now I really don't care. You said what you said, whether you meant it or not." Elliott said harshly, her eyes blazing as she looked at the woman in the doorway.

This was the part where it always escalated into a fight, every single night. But that night Cordelia didn't want to fight, she just felt drained. "Elle, if you will just tell me what happened, we can settle this." She said, trying to come to a compromise.

"I did tell you, you just don't want to believe me." Elliott said sternly.

"It doesn't make sense, Elle." Cordelia said, her voice rising with her irritation. She had been trying to find an answer, pouring over every possible resource for days, and she had nothing.

"Welcome to my life." Elliott said, shifting her body so she was facing away from the older woman, effectively letting her know she wasn't going to try to continue the conversation. Still, Cordelia persisted.

"Listen, I know we aren't exactly…  _pleased_  with each other, but we have to talk. I'm not taking you with me tomorrow to fight the whole time." Cordelia said, folding her arms as she pinched the bridge of her nose in-between her two fingers.

"As long as you think I'm a liar this fight isn't ending anytime soon." Elliott responded, flipping the page in her book.

Cordelia didn't respond, just stared at the girl for a few moments before sighing and walking to her office, closing the door behind her and walking over to her desk, leaning on it as she weighed her options. She needed to do something productive, find some sort of answers, but she knew if she sat down at that desk she would just end up banging her head against it once again. She wanted to fix things with Elliott, but she knew a simple apology wouldn't do, and that was all she could give until she knew what was going on. She desperately wanted to believe her child, to have something turn up and make it all make sense, but in all her books, all her research, she had nothing. The only thing she had left to do was to pour through the books at the boys school, that was her last glimmer of hope.

She didn't blame Elliott for being angry with her, in truth she felt horrible for the things she said, but she still was so angry, the idea of Elliott lying banging around in the back of her brain, eating her alive. Elliott was right, her apology wouldn't mean anything, not even to her, until she had some answers. Cordelia thought about how she would feel if it came out that Elliott was telling the truth, her actions and words completely unwarranted, and just the idea killed her. The more she thought about it, the more she secretly hoped Elliott was lying, because she couldn't bear the idea that she had said those things, put her daughter through that, all for nothing.

Before she knew it, Cordelia had grabbed her keys and was in the car, driving to the only person who could give her some kind of answers, even if it wasn't the ones she was looking for. She knew he wasn't going to be happy with her, she didn't even know if he would talk to her, but she had to do  _something_. She pulled into the parking lot and hopped out of the car, her stomach in knots. There was no way Elliott didn't tell David what was happening, but the supreme hoped he would at least be willing to talk with her about it.

She walked out of the elevator and into the dark hallway, visiting hours long over. It didn't matter, she knew he was still awake. She had spent far too many nights with him at this hour watching Elliott and him bicker over anything and everything to not know he was no stranger to long nights. As she walked in the door he glanced up from his textbook, a look of discomfort crossing his features as he closed the book and pulled himself up. "I was wondering how long it would be before you showed up." He said calmly.

Cordelia grimaced, she should have known he would be expecting her, she always went to him when there was a problem. "Elliott told you, I should have known." She said, the tension in the room palpable.

"She tells me everything, mostly everything. She probably wouldn't have told me if I didn't get a call from Madison trying to calm her down. She kind of had to explain it to me then so I didn't lose my shit." David said, watching a pained expression cross the supreme's features.

"I know you can't exactly be happy with me after that, and I don't blame you." Cordelia said, looking down at the floor.

"Well I'm not thrilled about it. I've never seen her that upset before, and I've seen a lot. It sucks." David said, pausing when Cordelia didn't respond, "I don't hate you, if that's what you're getting at."

"Well at least that makes one of you." Cordelia said, her tone more defeated than anything else.

"Do you blame her?" David asked, Cordelia shaking her head in response, "What are you doing here, Cordelia?"

"I don't know. I just figured you could help me figure this out." Cordelia said honestly, finally looking up at him, "You know her better than anyone else."

"I do." David said, his gaze softening a little bit, "Let me guess, she won't let you apologize?"

Cordelia nodded, "She said I won't mean it, and she's right. I can't apologize until I actually know what's going on, not in the way she needs me to."

"So then tell me what happened." David said simply. He had gotten part of it from Elliott, but even she didn't really understand it, and he wanted to know both sides.

"I had a meeting with Grace and Papa Legba, to try and get Elenor back. I made him an offer, but he didn't want it, he wanted something else, and he started talking about Elliott. He said she had been going to the underworld for months, that she was the reason we got Misty back, that she had been visiting my mother. He kept saying all these things, and it made it seem like it was on purpose. After, Grace told me it wasn't my fault, that Elliott had always been this way, and I just lost it. I told her when she read the books that it wasn't something to play around with, that it was dangerous, especially after what happened with Misty, and she promised me she wouldn't do it. I'm not proud of the way I reacted, I shouldn't have done it, said what I did, and I didn't mean it. I just..." Cordelia trailed off.

"You got scared." David said, Cordelia nodding in return.

"She said she didn't do it on purpose, that she thought it was a dream, she didn't say the words. But you can't do it without them, it just isn't possible. I've looked over everything I have, trying to find something that would make it make sense, because I want to believe her, but I can't." Cordelia said, tearing up at the end, "I need you to be honest with me, is it even possible she's lying?"

David was quiet for a moment, trying to think of how to answer, "It is possible, she's lied before to me, but it usually was to protect me. But I don't think she's lying. I know her, she's not the type to just pull something like that, especially with her knowing how much it messed you up the first time." Cordelia looked shocked, so David offered an explanation, "She told me because she wanted to figure out how to help you, it wasn't just something in passing conversation, she's not like that. She was worried. But, you losing it like that is partially my fault. I should've warned you about Grace."

"What do you mean?" Cordelia asked, confused.

David let out a sigh, "Elliott has always really liked Grace, but Grace doesn't really like Elliott. She acts like she does, but she really doesn't like her being around Sarah, for whatever reason. She's always thought Elliott was a troublemaker, and she likes to stir the pot when it comes to her. That's why I've never really trusted her, she likes to get people worked up and start fights. She's always been like that but Elliott never saw it or wanted to believe it." Cordelia nodded, so David continued, "As far as Elliott goes, it's not a lost cause. She's still there, which is saying something. If something like that would have happened anywhere else, she would have bolted by now. Just give it time, I guess, at least until you figure out what's going on."

Cordelia thanked him for talking to her and went on her way home, finding Elliott still awake and reading in bed. This wasn't unusual, Elliott wanted Cordelia to be there before she fell asleep so that she would know she didn't do anything in case something did happen, but it was unusual that the supreme went out that late at night. Elliott met the older woman's gaze questioningly before realizing her mistake, shaking her head slightly as she closed her book and slid down, covering herself with the blankets before Cordelia could attempt a conversation once again.

Since everything had come to light, Cordelia wasn't getting much sleep, if any at all. Throughout the night the older witch would set alarms to wake her up, just to check on the young girl. She tried her best to fall back asleep, but most times she couldn't for hours, the stress of everything that happened causing bouts of insomnia, leaving the witch wide awake with nothing but her thoughts, and that night was no different. When her alarm went off early the next morning, she had guessed she had gotten maybe three hours of sleep, and that was being generous. Still, she pulled herself out of bed and walked downstairs, grabbing a cup of coffee before she sat down in her office, searching once again. The process was frustrating, as it always was. The supreme had been pouring over everything for days, reading and rereading everything she could, but she had nothing.

What made it all worse is Cordelia felt like there was something she was missing, like she knew the answer all along but she just couldn't recall it. Maybe it was because Elliott really was lying, but something in the back of the older woman's mind told her she wasn't, that Cordelia already knew what was causing it, and that opened up a whole host of fears for her. If Elliott was doing it on purpose, at least they could control it. If she wasn't, there was no way to, at least not any that where known to her. It was uncharted territory.

Around noon a car showed up to take the council and Elliott to the airport, a ride that was mostly silent. Elliott unsurprisingly chose to sit next to Madison on the plane, a not so subtle slight that everyone caught onto. Since the fight, Madison had become her new best friend, practically the only person she would talk to, and it wasn't a mystery to the supreme as to why. Madison was the only person Elliott didn't have to worry would report back to Cordelia on whatever she said. It was widely known the movie star barely tolerated the supreme, but she had taken quite well to Elliott, and for whatever reason, Elliott had also taken to her.

"You aren't going to throw up on me, right?" Madison said snarkily as Elliott sat down next to her, the younger girl throwing her a glare.

"Well now that you mention it I'm going to aim directly for you." Elliott said sarcastically, "I'll be fine. You aren't going to bite me, are you?" Madison rolled her eyes as the rest of the girls chuckled, Elliott definitely knew how to beat Madison in the sass department, a trick only Queenie had mastered previously.

Elliott moved to quickly buckle her seatbelt before turning her attention to her phone, trying to hide her anxiety. It didn't matter, Cordelia saw right through it, stealing glances across the aisle as the plane took off. Elliott didn't bother to look up from her phone the entire time, but it didn't matter, her fear was still plastered across her face, she never had a good poker face. Every time Cordelia would glance at her she saw her wide eyes, her blank expression, the way she would tense up each time the plane hit a bump. It pained the older woman, seeing her like that and not being able to help, but she knew if she tried Elliott would just reject her, and she wasn't about to cause a scene while they were mid-air.

"Congrats, you were able to hold your shit together for once." Madison said sarcastically as the plane landed, Elliott responding to the comment with a condescending smile.

"Maybe I should let Queenie sit next to you on the ride back, since you made it obvious you have the hots for her." Elliott responded, Madison rolling her eyes in return.

"In her dreams, maybe. I just didn't want you to get the wrong idea, underage isn't really my thing." Madison responded.

"Anything that moves is your thing." Elliott said sarcastically, getting a chuckle out of Queenie.

"Looks like I've trained you well. That was actually solid." Madison quipped, throwing a smirk at Cordelia, who just rolled her eyes.

Since the flight got in so late, the witches didn't head straight for Hawthorne, going to the hotel to crash instead after grabbing dinner. Elliott hung out in the girls room for a majority of the night, which wasn't surprising considering she was avoiding Cordelia like the plague. Still, the day had worn on her, and by 9pm she was beyond ready for bed, truth be told she really didn't feel well. She walked into the room to see Cordelia awake and reading in bed, quickly changing into her pajamas and climbing in on her side of the bed, rolling so she was facing away from the supreme. "You going to bed this early?" Cordelia asked, a little confused. Normally Elliott stayed up much later, or at least read a bit before bed.

"Yea. I don't really feel good." Elliott said, shifting around to try and get comfortable. She tossed and turned for a few moments before settling back in, still as far away from the supreme as possible, which made Cordelia internally chuckle at her broody antics.

After it had seemed like she fell asleep, Cordelia saw the girl shift in her sleep so she was on her back, her body going still after the action. The older woman didn't pay much attention to it, Elliott normally tossed and turned a lot in her sleep, usually waking the supreme up several times throughout the night when she did. She wasn't exactly a peaceful sleeper. Cordelia continued to read for another hour until she realized the girl hadn't moved an inch since then, her curiosity peaked. Normally Elliott moved every 15 minutes or so, whether it be a complete turn over or a twitch, so it was a little strange.

She stared at the girl for a few moments, waiting for her impending movement, but it never came, she didn't even look like she was breathing. Finally, the older woman reached to shake her a bit, just to make sure she was still alive, after all she could have just been in a deep sleep, but Elliott didn't even stir. "Elle?" Cordelia said softly, trying to get even a bit of a response from her, but there was nothing. She shook the girl harder, calling her name louder, but still nothing. "Elle?" She finally yelled, shaking the young witch pretty forcefully, alerting the girls in the joining room, but still she got nothing.

"What's going on?" Zoe asked, walking into the room.

"I can't get her to wake up." Cordelia said, her voice panicked. She tried to calm herself down, focusing to see if she could feel her soul, but she couldn't which only made her panic grow. "No no no no. I can't feel her. I can't…" Cordelia said, hunched over the girl as she looked at the witches that had since congregated in the room, the panic written on her face.

"Did she say it?" Queenie asked, Cordelia shaking her head in return.

"She didn't say anything. She just went to sleep. I was here the whole time. How did she do it?" Cordelia said, talking more to herself than anyone else. She wasn't lying, Elle wasn't lying.

"Little brat was telling the truth. Are you sure you just weren't paying attention?" Madison asked, her voice sarcastic but her expression panicked.

Cordelia didn't respond, just sat there, frazzled. She quickly tried to gather herself, grabbing Elliott in her arms as she repeated the return spell over and over, but the girl didn't move.

Meanwhile, Elliott had found herself standing in the yard of the coven, a hundred feet from the door to the greenhouse. She looked around for a moment before hearing voices coming from inside, so she walked over and stood in front of the doorway, spotting Misty immediately. She gazed at the witch for a moment then stared at the woman next to her, one brown eye and one blue, and it took her a moment to realize it was Cordelia, she just looked so different. She looked small, almost fragile, like a porcelain doll, her expression pained as she argued with a man in front of her, and it didn't take long for Elliott to realize it was Hank.

"Baby, just listen to me. We can work this out, just give me a chance." She heard him say.  _Shit, this has to be hell. But whose is it?_

"I told you it's over. I'm filing for divorce, now get your shit and get out." Cordelia responded, her words dripping with venom.

It was a constant cycle of this over and over for what seemed like an hour, none of them noticing Elliott's hovering presence. Finally, Cordelia was the one who spotted her, looking over Hank's shoulder curiously. Hank quickly whipped around, "Who the fuck are you? We're kind of busy."

It was strange to see Cordelia look at her like a stranger, but then again she really was. Still, she felt obligated to find an out for her mother, seeing the pain and frustration written on her face. "The girls need you in the house." Elliott said softly to the woman, watching the confusion and relief spread across her features as she softly nodded then walked out of the greenhouse, Misty trailing behind her.

Hank just glared at her, "You couldn't have waited?"

"Believe me, you are going to have this fight for eternity. You can spare a few minutes." Elliott said, her stare hard as stone as he looked at her curiously.

"Do I know you?" Hank asked, his once hard disposition fading into one of defeat and irritation.

"Sort of. You know, for as douchey as you were and all the shit you pulled, you would think your hell wouldn't be quite so… pathetic?" Elliott said snarkily.

"What the fuck are you talking about? Who are you?" Hank asked angrily, making Elliott smirk.

"Well that's no way to talk to your daughter, now is it daddy?" Elliott said sarcastically, her voice dripping with sweet condescension. Hank's face fell, which only made Elliott smirk once again. He really was a dumbass. Just then, she heard a voice call out to her, more like an echo that radiated throughout the room, Cordelia saying the callback spell.  _So that's what it sounds like, huh. Well, at least she knows I'm not lying._  She turned her attention back to Hank, who was still staring at her, "Alright, it's obvious you have no fucking idea what's going on, and truthfully I don't have the time to play games, so I'll explain it to you. Cordelia found out you were a witch hunter, after you were a dumb fuck and got yourself killed, which is how you ended up here, in hell, where you are forced to relive her rejecting you over and over again. Kind of sad if you think about it."

"She knows?" Hank asked, his voice deathly quiet.

"Not right now she doesn't, but she finds out, and she hates you for it." Elliott said offhandedly, messing with her fingernails as she leaned on the doorframe.

"You don't understand; I was trying to protect her." Hank said, trying to justify himself. Elliott was surprised out of all the things she had revealed, that was what he fixated on, but then again she really didn't expect him to care about her, he was too self-centered.

"You were hired to kill her, you used her research to kill other witches, and you got caught. You weren't protecting her, you just wanted to please your daddy." Elliott said, her words laced with irritation.

"She needs to know; I have to tell her. I love her." Hank said, trying to move past the young girl.

"She knows; she just doesn't care. You can run after her all you want and spit out whatever lies you can come up with, but it's just going to end the same." Elliott said as she finally let him pass, leaving her alone in the greenhouse. She thought for a moment on just going back, but she was already down there, and she didn't want to waste an opportunity to get Elenor back. This was her one shot. "Papa?" She called out, turning around in circles, "I know you're hanging around somewhere."

Back in the hotel room, Cordelia was full on panicking, "I have to go get her."

"You don't even know where she is, and you're short on time." Madison said, the supreme snapping her gaze up.

"She's with Fiona, she has to be." She said, staring back down with wide eyes. "I have to go. I can't just leave her there, she could die."

"And you could if you can't find her and stay down for too long. We can't lose both of you." Queenie said, trying to reason with the older witch.

"I'm not leaving her there." Cordelia said firmly, letting everyone know it wasn't up for discussion as she quickly moved around the room, getting everything set up.

"Alright, if you are going to go then we need a plan." Zoe said, "If you aren't back an hour before sunrise, or if she gets back before you, we'll do the callout. But you have to answer it and come back, ok?"

"Fine." Cordelia said, lying down next to the girl and repeating the incantation, her soul dropping to the underworld.

When she first arrived, she thought she went to the wrong place. The cabin seemed stuffy and far too casual for any place her mother would be residing, but then again, it was hell, and this certainly would be hell for Fiona. She heard a man's voice ring out, a familiar voice, then the door in front of her opened and her mother came stomping out, snapping her gaze up to meet her daughter's. They stared at each other for a moment, not saying anything, before Fiona broke the contest. "Delia, to what do I owe the pleasure?" She said sarcastically, her voice dripping with condescension.

"Where's Elliott?" Cordelia asked, Fiona smirking in response.

"She got away from you, did she? If you can't tell, I'm trapped here, so I can't exactly be keeping tabs on her, not anymore." Fiona said.

"Like you ever were." Cordelia said with venom.

"Delia, Delia, you still are so angry with me. Come have a chat, it's not like you visit me." Fiona said, pulling out a chair and sitting down at the wooden table.

"I don't have time to deal with you, mother. I have to find her." Cordelia said, crossing her arms and staring at the floor.

Fiona waved her hand dismissively, "She'll be fine. She still thinks this is her personal playground. She's running around somewhere."

"Let me get this straight. You know you're in hell, you know she's been visiting you, you know how dangerous it is, and you didn't bother to tell her to stop?" Cordelia spat, throwing a deathly glare in Fiona's direction, "And here she is thinking you cared about her."

"Delia, even if I told her to stop she wouldn't. She didn't even know she was in hell, despite me telling her, she thought it was a dream. You can't fix stubborn; god knows I tried with you." Fiona lamented, her voice dragging like velvet on a hardwood floor.

Cordelia rolled her eyes, "She had to know. You can't do it without a spell and you know it."

Fiona threw a look at her daughter, "She didn't, and you know as well as I do that not every powerful being needs a spell to get down here. You had me read you that god awful thing a thousand times like it was your favorite bedtime story."

"What are you talking about?" Cordelia asked, exasperated.

Fiona just stared at her, "You know exactly what I am talking about, what she is. You just don't want to face it. Not that I'm surprised. How could perfect Delia give birth to the end of our glorious reign?"

Cordelia closed her eyes as she shook her head, stunned, "I'm sorry, you think she's  _it_? No one believes that prophecy is true, and even if it was, it wouldn't be her. She's not dark, not even a little bit."

Fiona rolled her eyes, "She has dark magic in her veins, it's how she even got down here. She might not be dark, at least not yet, but her powers are. She's already rising. And we did believe it, at least half of us did. We just didn't think anyone would be stupid enough to make it possible, but you always like to prove me wrong, don't you Delia?"

Back in Hank's hell, Elliott was still calling for Papa Legba, although she was starting to think he was just avoiding her. "Papa Legba…. Here kitty kitty kitty." She tried, her once enthusiasm replaced with sarcasm.

"You think that is any way to call me, child?" Elliott heard from behind her, making her jump. "I thought me revealing your little secret would keep you out of here, but I guess you just can't stay away from me."

"Yea well we need to talk." Elliott said, crossing her arms, "I want to make a deal for Elenor."

Papa laughed, "Your mother already tried. I named my price, she wouldn't agree."

"Yea well I'm not her. What do you want?" Elliott said, rolling her eyes to emphasize her annoyance.

"Child, you have spunk, I'll give you that. You're lucky I am fond of you, but why would I give her back? You already broke your deal." Papa said, intrigued by the girl's determination.

"I don't know, because you like me? I don't have an answer for that, but we need her back. What do you want?" Elliott said exasperatingly.

"I told your mother what I want, she told me no. How would she feel about you coming to visit with me, against her wishes?" Papa said, baiting the young girl.

"She's going to be pretty pissed, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, I guess. What did you tell her you wanted?" Elliott asked.

"You." Papa said simply, Elliott cocking her head to the side as the meaning dawned on her.

"You want….me?" Elliott said condescendingly, "Why? I just cause you trouble, you literally want to get rid of me."

"Because I have use for you and your…talents. You've proven yourself to be quite the good helper." Papa said.

Elliott thought for a moment, but truthfully she didn't even need to think, "Fine, you can have me."

"You'd give yourself up so easily?" Papa sneered, shocked.

"Yea, whatever, probably would cause a lot less issues down here." Elliott said offhandedly.

Papa Legba stared at her for a moment, before laughing. "I don't need you, not yet. I'll give you your girl back, no soul required."

Elliott paused, thinking it was some sort of trick, "Why would you do that?"

"You are not ready, not yet. I can wait. You forget child, I know how this ends." Papa said, snapping his fingers and disappearing.

Elliott shot straight up in bed, gasping for breath. "Holy shit you actually did it." Madison said, the shock written on her face.

Elliott looked over, confused, before turning and seeing Cordelia lying on the bed next to her, "What did she do?"

"She went looking for you." Queenie said, "We've got to call her back. There isn't much time."

Cordelia had been bickering with Fiona for what seemed like hours. Every time she would go to leave, Fiona would bait her with another snide remark. "I'm not here for you, Fiona. I'm here for my kid, I've got to go."

"I told you, she's fine. She can handle herself, she doesn't need you to coddle her. You ruined her you know." Fiona sneered, leaning back in her chair as Cordelia rolled her eyes, "You know as well as I do that there's no saving her. You might as well kill her now."

"I'm not killing my child, you're wrong." Cordelia said forcefully. Just then, she heard Queenie call out to her. "Shit," she said, "I have to find her. There isn't much time. God, why do you always insist on screwing up my life? I should have been looking." Fiona didn't respond, just laughed, and Cordelia heard the callout again. "They were only supposed to do it once."

"Do you really expect anyone to actually listen to you?" Fiona sneered, smirking at her dig as Cordelia rolled her eyes.

"She's not coming back, fuck." Queenie said, setting the supreme down, "We should have known she wouldn't fucking listen to us, she never does."

Elliott paced for a moment, trying to think of what to do. "Move over, let me do it." She finally said, motioning for Queenie to get out of her way.

"You don't know the words." Queenie responded, looking doubtful.

"Then tell them to me. You can hear who's calling to you. She might not respond to you but she hopefully will to me." Elliott said, shoving the older witch out of the way as she cradled the supreme. "Tell me the words."

Cordelia heard the callout once again, only this time it wasn't from Queenie, it was Elliott's voice. "She's back." Cordelia said, the relief flooding her face as Fiona threw her an "I told you so" glare.

"She's a smart girl, she doesn't need your help." Fiona snarked as Cordelia's figure dissipated. "God help her."

In the mortal world, Elliott had repeated the Latin to the best of her ability, but the supreme didn't move. "Shit." She said, setting the woman back on the bed and standing up as tears sprang to her eyes, "What the fuck are we going to do? She's not hearing it, she can't be."

"She's still got an hour til sunrise. Guess we just have to hope our dear supreme gets her ass in gear." Madison said, crossing her arms.

Right when Elliott was positive she was going to start crying, Cordelia shot up in bed, gasping for breath. "Look who finally decided to join the living. Took you long enough." Madison sneered.

"Oh shut up." Queenie responded, "Are you ok Miss Cordelia?"

The supreme struggled to catch her breath but nodded, looking up at Elliott, who was standing with her arms crossed, the distress still clear on her features. The two just looked at each other for a moment, waiting for one of them to say something. Elliott could see the pain in Cordelia's eyes, realizing she was in the wrong, so she was the first to break the tension. "That was a real dumb move." She said seriously, Cordelia breaking her gaze and biting her lip before looking back at the girl, her apology written on her face, "Don't do it again."

The three council members spent the next half hour scolding the supreme for not adhering to the plan they laid out, during which Elliott sat completely silent, brooding in the corner. She was pissed, furious that Cordelia would not only risk her life going down there, jeopardizing the coven and herself, but also that she refused to follow instructions. Elliott knew if she didn't do the callout that Cordelia wouldn't have returned, and knowing the conversation that took place with Papa Legba, the supreme would have been stuck down there had he not told Elliott he didn't need her. She also was mad at herself, for being as scared as she was, for  _caring_  as much as she did. Cordelia was horrible to her, yet her stomach was rocky just  _thinking_  about what would have happened if things didn't work out the way they did. She managed to walk away from the conversation just as it was coming to a close, heading to the bathroom in the opposite room to try and gather herself, splashing cold water on her face and sitting on the cool tile floor.

When she had finally pulled herself together she walked back into the room, passing the other witches who were heading to bed. She offered them a quiet goodnight, knowing it was well into the morning. She stood in the doorway, the supreme still seated on the bed and staring at her hands. "You shouldn't have done that." Elliott said quietly, the older woman looking up at her. If you didn't know the girl very well, you would think she was angry, her face hard as stone, but her too wide eyes gave away her underlying panic.

"Elliott, I wasn't going to risk…" Cordelia began, only to be cut off.

"You should have. It's not your job to be running after me, you have the rest of the coven to look out for and you know that." Elliott said sternly, her gaze hardening.

"We had a plan." Cordelia objected.

"A plan you knew damn well you weren't going to stick to. We both know if I hadn't called out to you, you wouldn't have come back and you would have died trying to save me. You had absolutely no idea what you were going into." Elliott said, her voice rising the angrier she got, making Cordelia flinch.

"But you  _did_  call me back." Cordelia said.

"And thank god for that. Everyone thought I was crazy; Queenie almost didn't let me because I didn't know the words. If I hadn't you would have been screwed. You didn't think!" Elliott said, practically shouting.

"Well that seems to be the theme lately." Cordelia said sarcastically, throwing Elliott a glare as the girl shook her head.

Elliott's expression softened a little bit, just enough for Cordelia to see her vulnerability. "Yea, well I need you to." She said quietly, her voice wavering, which only made Cordelia feel even worse, "You can't die trying to save me, that's not how this works. You can't do that again."

"I won't." Cordelia said softly, looking down at her hands.

"I don't believe that." Elliott whispered, "You can't lie to me."

The two sat silent for a moment before Elliott moved to sit next to the supreme on the bed. "I'm sorry. I should have believed you. I knew you weren't lying, I just…" Cordelia trailed off, her voice thick with impending tears.

"You doubted yourself. I know." Elliott said quietly, "That's your biggest issue, you don't trust yourself or your instincts. You always think everyone else knows more or better than you, and you let them get inside your head. You need to trust yourself."

"God, I really wish you were lying." Cordelia said, her tears spilling over as Elliott looked at her, confused. "I don't. I just… if you were lying, I would know how to fix it. But with this… I don't know how to help you, how to control it, and I'm scared. That's why I got so angry, why I lost it. It wasn't about you, or what you did. It was me being absolutely terrified. If you can't control it and you're gone for too long, I can't bring you back." Cordelia said, looking up to meet Elliott's gaze.

"You can't bring me back anyways." Elliott said seriously, which didn't help the situation, so she tried to crack a joke, "Besides, even if that did happen it still probably wouldn't be that bad. Apparently Papa is rather fond of me."

Cordelia stared at her wide eyed for a moment before giving a teary laugh, "Only you would make friends with a demon."

"Well it's worked out in my favor so far." Elliott quipped, her face falling once she remembered her conversation with him. She would have to tell Cordelia, she was going to find out pretty quickly anyways, but she knew it wouldn't go over well.

"Where did you go?" Cordelia asked quietly, studying her daughter's face as Elliott met her gaze, "You weren't with Fiona, unless she was just trying to distract me so I wouldn't find you."

"You saw Fiona?" Elliott asked, shocked, "Bet that went over real well."

Cordelia let out a chuckle. "Talking with my mother is always a pleasure." She said sarcastically, making Elliott grin a bit, "Fiona is… Fiona. It's not going to change, and I knew what I was getting into when I went down there. Taking shots at me is her favorite pastime, unfortunately."

"Don't let her get to you." Elliott said softly, "She doesn't know you, she never did."

"I know." Cordelia said as her phone went off, Elliott glancing out the hotel window as the sun peeked up, "It's probably John Henry… again. He can wait."

"You might want to get it." Elliott said, Cordelia looking at her curiously.

"Why?" She asked, Elliott shaking her head.

"Just answer it." The young witch replied, Cordelia getting up to grab her phone, seeing Misty's name on the screen.

"Hello?" She answered, staring at Elliott as she did.

"Dee, Elenor is back." Misty said loudly from the other side.

"What?" Cordelia asked, the confusion sweeping over her features.

"I don't know how it happened, but she's back. She woke Emma up and of course she started screamin', but she can't tell anyone what happened or how she got here." Misty responded, the excitement clear in her voice.

The two talked for a few more moments, the supreme never looking away from her daughter as she did, and Elliott could see the panic in her eyes. She felt guilty, knowing exactly what was running through Cordelia's mind, but she also knew she didn't do anything wrong. Finally, the supreme hung up, setting her phone on the nightstand and turning back to her daughter. "You did this?" she asked, her voice deathly quiet.

Elliott slowly nodded, "I went and talked with Papa Legba, and he gave her back."

"Elliott, what did you do?" Cordelia asked, her words stern but her voice panicked.

"I didn't do anything, I promise." Elliott said, trying to calm the woman down.

"He doesn't just give people  _back_ , Elliott. What did you give him?" Cordelia asked as her voice shook. The girl noticed she wouldn't come sit back on the bed, but she also wasn't pacing, which was unusual for her.

"I didn't give him anything. I tried to, but he didn't want it. He just gave her back; I don't know why." Elliott explained, putting her hands out to emphasize her honesty.

"You had to give him something." Cordelia said firmly, throwing her daughter a panicked look. Cordelia wasn't dumb, she knew what he wanted, and she knew Elliott had absolutely no regard for her own safety.

"Just… come sit down. I'll tell you everything, explain it all. You don't have to worry, I promise." Elliott said, patting the bed beside her. Cordelia didn't move, just threw the witch a look, so Elliott raised her eyebrows, motioning once again for the supreme to come sit next to her. Cordelia finally complied with a sigh, but as she sat on the bed and faced the girl she was still incredibly tense. "Ok, I went down there, unintentionally, by the way, and I figured while I was down there I might as well try to get her, so I called for him. I told him what I wanted and I tried to negotiate."

"You shouldn't have done that and you know it. You have absolutely no idea what you are dealing with." Cordelia said firmly, her eyes and expression hard.

"Can I at least finish before you start lecturing me?" Elliott said exasperatingly, Cordelia throwing her a look before taking a deep breath and pursing her lips. "Ok. Well, I asked him what he wanted, and he told me he wanted me. He said that was the offer he made you, but you turned it down. I told him he could have me if that's what he wanted, but then he just said he would give her back, that he didn't need me yet and I wasn't ready. I tried to get him to explain to me why, but he just told me that he knows how it ends, and then he went away and I woke up. I didn't give him anything, he just did it."

Cordelia's eyes got teary at the confession, but she couldn't actually believe it. No way would he ever just give up a soul, he had to get something out of it. "Elle…" She began.

"Careful before you call me a liar. We saw how that worked out last time." Elliott said firmly, the supreme looking at her doubtfully, her eyes still wide with panic. Elliott thought for a moment on how to prove it. "Maybe I can show you…" she muttered, mostly to herself. She didn't know if it was possible, but if she could remember it chances were she could pull it from her memory. She shifted on the bed and concentrated, displaying her own memories to the supreme.

After she pulled back, she saw the confusion on the supreme's face. "Show me again." Cordelia insisted, thinking there was something she missed, some small detail that would reveal the man tricked her. Elliott played it again, and again once the supreme asked for a repeat. "It doesn't make sense." Cordelia finally said, shaking her head, "Why would he just give you her back?"

"I don't know." Elliott said honestly, shaking her head. "What did he mean, when he said he knows how it ends?"

Cordelia was quiet for a moment; she didn't know how to answer the question. She had an idea of what he meant, thinking about what he had said to her earlier, the conversation she had with Fiona, but she didn't want to say anything until she knew for certain. "I'm not sure yet. It could mean a lot of things."

"Do you think he was just messing with me?" Elliott asked, the worry evident on her face. She was trying not to think about it, but it had been bugging her ever since she woke back up.

"He could be. He's a demon, they aren't exactly known for being the most honest people." Cordelia said, her voice rushed as she spoke, showing how unsettled she still was about the whole thing. "You're an unusual case. A lot of your magic no one has seen before, and it makes people ask a lot of questions, make a lot of assumptions. No one knows what you are, exactly."

"What do you mean? Aren't I just a witch?" Elliott asked, the fear peeking into her voice.

Cordelia saw the confusion and worry on her daughter's face, and her heart broke. She tried to console the girl, pulling her into a hug and kissing her head before pulling back and looking her in the eye,"Yes, baby, you are. We just don't know what kind of witch. There's a lot of ambiguity in some of the history. Vague prophecies and things about special kinds of witches and warlocks. We disregard most of them, but a few have come true, so it leads a lot of people to ask questions when it comes to those with unusual talents. But it's nothing for you to worry about, I promise."

Elliott slowly nodded, but Cordelia could still see the distress written on her face. She should have known better than to say anything, Elliott was always an over thinker, always worrying, as much as the supreme wished she wouldn't. "Are you mad at me?" Elliott finally asked softly, staring at her hands.

"No, sweetheart. I'm not mad. I know you just wanted to help, and I can't fault you for that. But you can't do it again. I told him no for a reason, because I need you here with me. I know your heart was in the right place, but I can't lose you, baby. Not like that. You can't do that to me." Cordelia said, her voice turning from soft to serious, "You need to take care of yourself."

"I promised you we would get her back. I couldn't break it." Elliott said seriously, looking Cordelia in the eye, which only made the supreme tear up again.

"Not like that. Never like that." Cordelia said, "I need you here with me. You can't leave me. You could break a hundred promises and I would be ok with it as long as you were still here."

Elliott nodded slightly and the supreme could see how drained she was from the night's events. She couldn't fault the girl, truthfully she was beyond exhausted as well. The supreme reached for her phone and texted John Henry and the council, letting everyone know they would be getting a late start to the day before turning back to her daughter and pulling her down on the bed, wrapping her arms around the girl as she kissed her head. "Get some sleep, baby. We both need it." She said with a chuckle, Elliott nodding a bit then burrowing further into her arms, which only made Cordelia kiss her head once again. "I love you." She whispered softly.

"I love you too, mama." Elliott said sleepily, drifting off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P.S. I know it's all very vague right now, but it will clear up a bit in the next chapter, I don't like to leave everyone guessing for long.


	38. Chapter 38

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, I started my new job so I've been exhausted, but I'm doing my best. This gives you sort of an idea of what Elliott is, but it will unfold more in later chapters and you'll get new details. It's going to be a little heavier from here on out, but there still will be some fluffy stuff don't worry. Thank you for being so supportive of this story!

“Your headmaster is a fucking wreck.” Elliott said seriously, sitting on the couch with Trevor, Felix, and Sparrow. The witches weren’t even that late to their meeting that day at Hawthorne, but when they got there, John Henry was already on the verge of a mental breakdown. He started off screaming at Cordelia right off the bat, which obviously didn’t sit well with Elliott, and Cordelia finally had to send her away after he stepped a little too close and the girl got in his face. Now, she had calmed down a bit, but she still was angry enough to dig into him a little bit.

“Oh, we know. He’s been absolutely insane. It’s partially our fault, we haven’t exactly been making it easy for him.” Felix said with a snicker, Elliott throwing him a glare in return.

“Well can you start? Dude’s on a fucking warpath, and we already have enough shit to deal with. I swear I’m about two seconds from snapping and killing his ass.” Elliott said, still irritated at the events that had transpired earlier.

“Come on, cut him some slack. We don’t have the supreme making it all easy peasy over here, and the poor dude is by himself.” Sparrow said, knowing he was just baiting the witch.

“First of all, he isn’t doing shit.  Cordelia is basically running both schools, at this point we might as well just combine the two. And second, it’s definitely not _easy_ at the academy. We have girls trapping themselves in hell because they think they’re the next supreme and apparently I have a knack for getting powers that don’t have an instruction manual on how to control them.” Elliott said, rolling her eyes at the end.

“I doubt anyone is concerned about you going into someone’s head.” Trevor said, his cocky demeanor showing once again.

“That’s not the one they’re worried about, it’s the going to hell twice a week they’re concerned with.” Elliott responded offhandedly, the boys staring at her, confused. “Oh, I haven’t given you the latest update. Apparently I can cast myself down to hell, no spell required. Fucked some shit up while I did it too, Cordelia thought I was lying and almost slit my throat.”

“Huh, maybe you are the Alpha.” Felix said offhandedly, obviously joking.

“Don’t fucking say that, dude. She’s not.” Trevor spit, his face hard as stone, shocking everyone.

“Dude it’s fine, he’s joking. Also the Alpha is definitely a guy so…” Elliott said, trying to defuse the situation, but Felix and Sparrow just looked at each other. “What?”

“Just drop it, it’s not important.” Trevor said, his face still hard as Felix and Sparrow gazed at each other, silently asking if they should explain.

“Trev, she should know. They really don’t teach you about the Alpha at the academy?” Sparrow said, Trevor shooting him a death glare.

“It’s not her. Drop it.” Trevor said, getting furious.

“Relax.” Elliott said, “I want to know.”

Trevor threw her a fiery look before getting up and leaving, Elliott sitting there confused. “Ignore him, he just is being weird.” Sparrow said, turning to Felix, “Tell her.”

“So, the Alpha we’re taught about is basically the kids version, but it actually comes from a prophecy given by a crazy old witch back when the coven first began. No one believed her predictions, but some of them have come true. The original prophecy didn’t say whether it was a witch or a warlock, it was just assumed it was male because of what it was.” Felix explained.

“Ok, so what was it?” Elliott asked, intrigued.

“Forgive me if I’m not spot on with it, the prophecy is pretty wordy and vague, but I’ll try to paraphrase it as best I can. You know that the Alpha is a magical being whose power surpasses that of the supreme. Except a supreme’s power is rooted in light, and the Alpha’s is rooted in darkness, which gives it the ability to pass easily between the mortal world and the dark realm, which is why I made the joke. The part that’s always left out when we are taught is that the prophecy says the power cannot be contained, and it seeks to destroy who creates it, and in doing so destroys itself. Basically the Alpha is believed to destroy all witches and warlocks, because we created it.” Felix explained, his face dropping at the end. “I shouldn’t have made the joke. I know you aren’t the Alpha. No way are you the type to do that, I wasn’t thinking.”

“Wait, so you mean to tell me the Warlocks were actually hopeful that the Alpha rose, knowing it would destroy them, just so they could say they came out on top? Wow, you men really have way too much pride.” Elliott joked, trying to lighten the mood. “The Alpha is basically a smaller scale antichrist. Listen, I might be trouble, but I’m not that much trouble. Come to think of it, maybe Fiona was the Alpha.”

“Come to think of it, I don’t know why anyone ever thought it would be a guy. It would make more sense for it to be a girl since you guys are more magical than us anyways.” Sparrow said.

“Because only a guy could cause that much trouble. All that pent up aggression, you’ve started wars for less. You’ve proven you can’t handle yourselves. A girl could handle the power.” Elliott teased, “So why was Trevor so mad about it? It wasn’t even that big of a deal, just some crazy bullshit to scare us.”

Felix and Sparrow shared a look, debating on whether or not to say anything. “You really don’t know why?” Sparrow finally asked, trying to explain without actually having to tell the witch. Elliott shook her head, so Sparrow continued, “Uh, well… Isn’t it kind of obvious?” Elliott just threw him a look, so finally he caved, “He likes you, Elle. A lot. You really didn’t know?”

“Apparently not.” Elliott said. She felt stupid for not realizing, he had been flirting with her constantly, but she just thought that was how he was all the time. She didn’t want to open up a conversation about it though, truthfully she didn’t know how she felt about it, so she changed the subject, “Hey, do you guys have any books about the prophecy, or like any of the prophecies? I ran out of books to read at the academy a month ago and I’m going nuts.”

“Yea, we have a few.” Felix said, walking over to the bookcase and grabbing a couple of thin books, “You’ll have to give them back before you leave. John Henry will freak the fuck out and I don’t want him coming after me. They’re pretty confusing, so if you have issues understanding it you can always ask me.”

Elliott threw him a look, “I think I can handle it. Haven’t needed a boy to explain anything to me before.” Felix blushed at his slip up, but Elliott laughed it off, “It’s fine, I’ll bring them back before I leave. We wouldn’t want to have to burn ANOTHER headmaster. You guys are in rough enough shape as is.”

Felix and Sparrow joked around for a few more minutes before they had to get to class, leaving Elliott alone, but only for a moment. Just as Elliott went to crack open one of the books, she felt a weight on the couch next to her, glancing up to see Trevor. “Don’t you have class?” She asked.

“No, I’m a senior so I don’t have to take the same classes as everyone else, I already finished my classes for the day. Usually I just go to help out. The new teachers aren’t exactly great at controlling their classrooms.” Trevor joked, noticing the book in Elliott’s lap, “Elle, don’t read it.”

“Why not?” Elliott asked, “It’s just a bunch of vague bullshit anyways. Plus it’s interesting.”

“It’s not bullshit, at least not all of it. Some of those have come true.” Trevor argued.

“Listen, if you spout off a whole bunch of very vague, very wordy bullshit, of course some of it will actually happen. It’s probability. It doesn’t mean she actually predicted the future though, she just got lucky.” Elliott said, “Why don’t you want me to read it?”

“Because I know you. You’ll read about the Alpha and you’ll get in your head about it. It’s not you.” Trevor explained.

“You’ve actually spent maybe four days with me, and you think you know me? Come on, I don’t even know me, and I’ve spent every day with myself. I’m not the Alpha, not even close. The only thing that maybe links me to it is the whole hell situation, and that’s vague as shit.” Elliott responded, laughing.

“That’s not the only thing.” Trevor said seriously, causing Elliott to throw him a questioning look.

“Yea it is, Felix told me it was a magical being that surpassed the powers of supreme, which isn’t me because I can’t even do all of the seven wonders. Also, I’m not evil, as much as I like to think I am. I don’t have the capacity to destroy everyone, I can’t even use my telekinesis half the time.” Elliott said, Trevor shifting uncomfortably.

“There’s more to it than that, he gave you the bare bones version. Just… don’t read it, trust me. It will freak you out.” Trevor said.

“Why would it freak me out?” Elliott asked.

“I don’t want to tell you why because then it would ruin the whole point of you not reading it. If I tell you, you’ll read it, and you’ll be sorry you did.” Trevor said, getting Elliott frustrated.

“I’m going to read it anyways, so you might as well tell me.” Elliott said.

“I don’t want to. If you’re going to read it then do it I guess, I’m just trying to save you. That prophecy isn’t vague; I mean it is but it’s also very specific.” Trevor explained, letting out a sigh.

“So specific I’ll think it’s me? Is that what you’re getting at?” Elliott asked.

“Yea. You will. But you aren’t. You aren’t evil, you’re probably one of the greatest people I know.” Trevor said, looking Elliott in the eyes before she looked away, blushing slightly. “I just… I want to protect you. You have enough shit going on without having that in your head.” Trevor stuttered.

“I don’t need you to protect me. And even if I do think it’s me, by knowing what it is then I can work to avoid it.” Elliott offered.

“I know you don’t need me to, but still. Prophecies don’t work that way; you can try to avoid them but one way or another they’ll come true. The only way to keep them from happening is to actively try to make them come true, which you don’t want to do.” Trevor said, “Jesus, Elle. Why can’t you just leave it alone?”

“Why do you care so much?” Elliott retorted, catching herself far too late. She didn’t really need to ask; it was out of reflex. She knew exactly why.

Trevor sat quiet, which all but gave Elliott her answer. “Do I really need to say it?” He asked, making eye contact with the witch.

“No, you don’t.” Elliott responded, the tension in the room growing every second.

They just stared at each other for a while, then Trevor started to inch closer to her, stopping right before their faces were inches apart. “Is this ok?” He asked, looking at Elliott’s lips then back at her eyes, making his intentions crystal clear. Elliott thought, but only briefly, then decided it was ok, nodding slightly before he continued, closing the space between them.

The kiss was brief, but it was long enough for Madison to see, who was coming to check on the girl. She stared for a minute and laughed to herself before wandering back to the council, who were finishing up for the day. Cordelia spotted her immediately with a shit eating grin on her face, which concerned her. Madison only looked like that when she was about to wreck someone’s day. “How is Elliott?” Cordelia asked.

“Believe me, she’s doing just fine. Who knew she had it in her?” Madison cheekily said, the smirk still present.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Cordelia asked, raising one eyebrow suspiciously.

“She was making out with some boy. He was a hottie too, at least we know one Goode has game.” Madison snarked, smiling as a shocked look swept over Cordelia’s features.

“I’m sorry, what?” Cordelia asked, not believing it. Although, she wasn’t sure if that was because she just didn’t want to believe it. Elliott had never seemed to take an interest in boys, she was too caught up in everyone else’s love life.

“You heard me. Damn Cordi, she may have gotten your brains, but that’s all Fiona, or maybe she’s taking after me. After all, getting multiple boys is my calling card.” Madison joked, relishing in Cordelia’s obvious discomfort. “Better hope he doesn’t ask her to go to his room, you might have a real situation. I would fuck him in a heartbeat.”

“Thought you didn’t fuck underage boys?” Queenie snarked, making everyone else grin while Madison’s face dropped, looking irritated.

“I don’t. Give him a couple years and he might have a chance.” Madison said sarcastically, looking over at Cordelia’s obviously panicked expression, “Cordi, relax. She’s fine. It was one kiss.”

Cordelia tried to hide her obvious worry, but she was failing miserably, “It’s fine, I just didn’t even know she liked anyone. I’m not worried.”

“Yea, ok.” Queenie joked, getting a glare from the supreme.

Cordelia was panicked, as much as she tried not to be. She knew this eventually would happen, but she didn’t think it would be this soon, and she definitely didn’t think it would be with a boy from the academy, she always assumed it was going to be David. She kept glancing in the general direction of Elliott, debating whether or not she should go check on her herself, but the girls all noticed. “Cordelia, leave her alone. She’s a good kid, she’ll be fine. I’m sure this isn’t her first boyfriend.” Zoe offered, which only made Cordelia panic further. Her and Elliott had never even talked about whether or not the young girl had even had any romantic relationships previously, and the very idea was enough to make the surpeme’s head spin. Cordelia always swore she wouldn’t get worked up over things like this, that she wouldn’t get overprotective, but now that it was right in front of her she had half a mind to grab Elliott and make her sit with them the rest of the day, just in case.

“We should get back to work. I don’t want to be here all day.” Cordelia said, her words rushed, and everyone knew exactly why she wanted to be finished, snickering amongst themselves as Cordelia shot them a glare. They worked for about another hour until Cordelia was antsy, calling it a day. She quickly headed off in the direction of Elliott, the council following behind, wanting to be there if her head actually exploded. By that time Sparrow and Felix had rejoined the party, so no further kissing or anything else was taking place. Cordelia saw the group and was quickly able to discern which boy it was that Elliott had been kissing. Trevor towered above the other, more awkward boys, and he definitely was the best looking, as far as Madison’s taste went. She visibly calmed down, her eyes going back to a normal size as she got Elliott’s attention. “Elle? It’s time to go, love.”

Elliott met her gaze and nodded, quickly grabbing her things and saying her goodbyes before walking toward the women. “You have a good day?” Cordelia asked, trying to be nonchalant.

“More like a weird day.” Elliott answered, getting a funny look on her face before shaking her head.

“I’ll bet it was.” Madison snarked, Elliott quickly glancing over at her before carrying on, “You aren’t even going to respond?”

Elliott raised her eyebrows and stared at the witch, “No, I’ve learned to ignore almost everything you say.”

The other witches let out a chuckle as Cordelia broke out in a grin, laughing as she pulled the young girl closer to her, “I’ve taught you well.”

The witches headed back for the hotel, Elliott quickly showering and settling into bed with a book as Cordelia changed. The supreme took her time, stealing worried glances at the young girl as she did. Truthfully she should have expected this. The girl was almost 16, it was bound to happen eventually, Cordelia just didn’t think it would be this soon. She certainly didn’t expect to be as panicked as she was, but it wasn’t completely unwarranted. Elliott had a habit of trying to grow up too fast, and she wasn’t exactly known for keeping her best interests in mind. The conversation would be awkward, to say the least.

Elliott could feel the woman’s glances, her anxious and panicked energy. She tried to ignore it, knowing if Cordelia wanted to talk about it she would, but she had to give that up when the woman literally was pacing in front of her. “You ok?” She asked, not even looking up from her book.

Cordelia stopped in her tracks, her face blushing from being caught so easily. “Why wouldn’t I be?” She asked, trying to appear nonchalant.

“You tell me. You’re pacing and if you get any more anxious you might knock the mirror off the wall.” Elliott said sarcastically, getting a playful glare from the supreme.

“We need to put you on birth control.” Cordelia blurted out, her panic finally getting the best of her.

That got Elliott to look up from her book, the surprise stamped onto her face, “I don’t need to go on Birth Control.”

“Yes you do. Madison saw you kissing a boy today.” Cordelia said, Elliott letting out a sigh.

“Ok, well first, he kissed me, and second, last time I checked you couldn’t get knocked up from kissing.” Elliott said sarcastically, pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers. It wasn’t like she was hiding it from anyone, she just didn’t even want to bring it up until she knew what was going on. Mostly because she knew this would happen.

“Madison said you were doing more than that.” Cordelia retorted, her eyes wide enough to make Elliott laugh. “This isn’t funny.”

“Oh my god, yes it is. Maddie would say literally anything just to get you worked up. He kissed me, once, and that was it. Nothing more.” Elliott responded.

“And you weren’t going to tell me? Are you dating?” Cordelia asked, her words still rushed.

“I wasn’t going to say anything until I actually knew how I felt about it and what was happening, and no, we aren’t dating. I don’t know what we are, I didn’t even know he liked me until today.” Elliott explained, Cordelia raising an eyebrow.

“Do you like him?” the supreme asked, relaxing a little when she saw Elliott blush and shrug.

“I mean… I guess? I don’t know. I didn’t exactly think about it.” Elliott said honestly as Cordelia went to sit on the bed.

“What about David?” Cordelia pressed.

“What about David?” Elliott said sarcastically, Cordelia throwing her a knowing look.

“He is in love with you.” She said.

“He is not!” Elliott retorted, laughing.

“He absolutely is.” Cordelia responded, her tone firm.

“He absolutely has a girlfriend, he’s not in love with me. Sorry to burst your bubble.” Elliott said sarcastically.

“He what? Why didn’t you tell me?” Cordelia asked, shocked.

“Because he didn’t even tell me. I saw it on his phone, and when she came to visit him in the hospital he said she was a friend but he was really weird about it.” Elliott explained, Cordelia cocking her head to the side.

“And how do you feel about that?” She asked, Elliott shrugging in return.

“I feel fine. It’s none of my business, he can do what he wants.” Elliott said.

“You aren’t upset he didn’t tell you?” Cordelia asked.

“No, I get why he didn’t tell me. He knows everyone at the house thinks me and him are a thing. Madison makes comments about it practically every day.” Elliott said, rolling her eyes as Cordelia chuckled before turning serious.

“I just want you to be careful.” She said.

“Believe me, it’s not going to be an issue.” Elliott responded as the other girls walked in the room.

“What are we talking about bitches?” Madison asked, crossing her arms.

“Oh look, the snitch.” Elliott said sarcastically.

“Oh shit, is she giving you the birds and bees talk? I _have_ to be here for this.” Madison said, smirking as she went to sit in a chair.

“Yea we are not having _that_ conversation.” Elliott said, shaking her head.

“You’ve never had it before, have you? You have to have it; it’s just how it is.” Madison said, giving a devious smile.

“I’ve managed to figure it out just fine on my own, thanks.” Elliott said, a blush creeping on her cheeks.

“Oh please, all the books in the world can’t teach you half the shit you need to know.” Madison said with a smirk, Cordelia throwing her a glare.

“Madison…” Cordelia said firmly, signaling to knock it off.

“Relax. She’s not dumb enough to talk about it right in front of you. But you’d be stupid to not jump him now, dude’s hot.” Madison responded, Elliott rolling her eyes.

“Oh my god.” Elliott said, obviously embarrassed.

“She’s 15, Madison.” Cordelia said, stunned at the girl’s crassness.

“I lost my v card when I was 15.” Madison responded.

“Forgive me if you aren’t exactly my role model, Maddie.” Elliott said sarcastically, Madison chuckling.

“How old were you when you lost it Cordi? You had a shitty mom, I bet you got yourself into all kinds of trouble just to spite her.” Madison said, Queenie and Zoe gasping behind her as Cordelia shot her an uncomfortable glare, “You were younger, weren’t you?” Cordelia didn’t respond, so Madison continued to push, “You’re lucky you weren’t around before Elle. We all had to hear her banging Hank every other night. I can only imagine how loud she’s going to be with swamp rat.”

“Madison stop.” Elliott said forcefully once she saw Cordelia physically cringe.

“Ooo, guess I hit a nerve with that one. Who are we kidding, you had a fucked up childhood, you probably are already banging. You act like a good girl but we all know that wasn’t your first kiss.” Madison sneered.

Elliott rolled her eyes in response, “Did you come in here for a reason or just to be a pain in the ass?”

“I just wanted to watch your mommy’s head explode.” Madison replied, “Honestly Elle I didn’t think you had it in you, getting two hot guys to fall in love with you? That takes some serious skill.” Elliott threw Madison another look, “Alright I’m done. Just be careful, you wouldn’t want to get frisky and kill him, dear Zoe already did that, and it isn’t pretty. Wouldn’t want to fuck up his pretty little face. Dude could be a model.”

At that point Queenie and Zoe practically dragged Madison out of the room, enticing her with going out and apologizing as they left. “We really need to start locking that door.” Elliott joked, getting a small snicker from Cordelia, but the supreme’s face still showed her immense panic. “Listen, if it will make you feel better I’ll go on birth control, but I don’t need it, trust me.”

“Eventually you will, and it’s better to start it sooner rather than later.” Cordelia said, “I don’t want it to be an afterthought, that’s how you got here.” Elliott was quiet, nodding then looking away, which peaked the supreme’s interest, there was obviously something she wasn’t being told. “Elle?” She asked softly, the girl looking back at her, “Why don’t you need it?”

Elliott was quiet for a moment, debating on whether or not she should explain, but it was bound to come up eventually. “I, uh… I probably can’t have kids.” She said quietly, Cordelia staring at her, shocked. The older witch opened her mouth to ask why, but Elliott beat her to it, “I had an accident when I was a kid, and the doctors told me then it would be a miracle if I ever could, that I had next to no chance. It’s fine, it’s not a big deal.”

“What kind of _accident_?” Cordelia asked, knowing there was more to the story than Elliott was giving her, something that was confirmed when the girl bit her lip.

“I got… stabbed. By my foster father. It was the house I was with David in.” Elliott answered, hesitating.

“That wasn’t in your file.” Cordelia said, stunned.

“There’s a lot that isn’t in my file.” Elliott responded quietly, “They covered it up, gave me and David some fake story about some guy robbing us on the way home from the movies. The guy was a police officer, and his wife was a nurse, so it wasn’t a hard story to sell.”

“David was there?” Cordelia asked, Elliott nodding in return.

“He got in the way, that’s how he got the scar on his chest. The guy was drunk and had a knife in his hand when he totally lost it for no reason. He hadn’t ever done anything before that, so everyone was shocked. We didn’t expect it, and after David wouldn’t even let him be in the same room as me alone, ever.” Elliott explained, watching the pain flicker across Cordelia’s brown eyes.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Cordelia asked, Elliott looking down and not responding, which gave Cordelia her answer, “Because I told you I couldn’t have kids?”

“Well…yea, that was part of it. I didn’t even think about it until you mentioned it, and then it didn’t seem like a good idea to bring it up. And then after there just really wasn’t a good time, it just wasn’t that important. I’m not super worried about it right now, I’m sure later that will probably change, but I don’t think about it that much.” Elliott said honestly, shrugging her shoulders.

“Do you want kids?” Cordelia asked, curious.

“I don’t know. Before I didn’t, now I’m not sure.” Elliott answered.

“What made you change your mind?” Cordelia asked.

“You.” Elliott said, looking up to meet the supreme’s gaze. “Are you ever upset you couldn’t have more kids?”

Cordelia thought for a moment, “I used to be, but I’m not anymore. It was for a good reason, even if I didn’t see it. I don’t think I could handle a toddler with being the supreme and running the school, and I ended up with you anyways, so it all worked out.”

“Do you know why you couldn’t?” Elliott asked, curious.

Cordelia nodded hesitantly, “There were a lot of complications when I had you, and it ended up leaving a lot of scarring. At the time the doctors weren’t worried about it, but I didn’t try for another one until I was a lot older, and my age combined with that made it pretty difficult.”

“So I was trouble even back then.” Elliott said sarcastically, giving the supreme a sad smirk, “At least I’m consistent.”

“You are not trouble.” Cordelia said playfully, rolling her eyes, “You’re the best thing to ever happen to me.”

“Shouldn’t Misty be the best thing that’s ever happened to you?” Elliott teased. “She’s definitely a lot easier to deal with than me. I don’t see her giving you grey hairs.”

“Misty is great, but you are my priority.” Cordelia said seriously.

“Yea I’ve noticed that. You two still haven’t gone on a real date yet, I ruined the last one. I swear you guys are moving slower than a snail.” Elliott joked, Cordelia narrowing her eyes.

“We are fine. She knows you and the coven have to come first.” Cordelia said, pretending to be offended.

“Eventually that excuse isn’t going to work anymore and you’re going to have to actually do something.” Elliott teased.

“And what do you mean by that?” Cordelia asked, smiling.

“I mean eventually I’m going to grow up and you won’t have to worry about me anymore, and you aren’t going to run the school forever.” Elliott said.

“I’m always going to worry about you, that won’t stop once you are 18.” Cordelia said seriously.

“Well I know THAT. I just mean you won’t have to be chasing me around all the time. Hopefully one of these days I’ll actually get my shit together.” Elliott joked.

“Language, missy.” Cordelia said while laughing, “Why do I feel like you are judging me?”

“Because I am judging you.” Elliott said seriously, which just made Cordelia snort. “Eventually you have to make yourself a priority and stop making excuses, or you’ll be really sad once I move out or join the circus or something.”

“Are you planning on joining the circus?” Cordelia asked, still smiling.

“At this point my life IS a circus.” Elliott said sarcastically, “I’ve spent more time in the hospital than I have in my own bed.”

“That’s just because you spend most nights in mine.” Cordelia joked, which just earned her a glare.

“Oh look, I’ve created a monster.” Elliott said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes and Cordelia scoffed.

“More like I created you.” Cordelia joked in response.

“Yea, not a conversation I want to have. We already went there once tonight.” Elliott deadpanned as she stood, packing her books in her backpack and getting ready for bed.

“Hey Elle, have you ever thought what you want to do when you get older? Besides joining the circus.” Cordelia asked, curious.

Elliott thought for a moment, “No, not really.”

“Come on, you had to think about it at some point. What did you want to be when you were a kid?” Cordelia asked, raising her eyebrows as Elliott came to sit back on the bed in her pajamas.

“I don’t know. Was I supposed to think about it?” Elliott asked, confused.

“They never asked you in school?” Cordelia asked, Elliott nodding a bit.

“I mean, they did, but I just always gave the same answer the other kids did. I didn’t really think they were serious.” Elliott joked.

“You never thought about what you wanted your future to look like?” Cordelia said, her eyebrows creasing together as Elliott shook her head, “Why not?”

“Just wasn’t important I guess. It’s not like it would have actually worked out that way even if I did. Things never go the way you hope they will.” Elliott said with a shrug, trying her best to deter the conversation before the supreme asked a question she really didn’t want to know the answer to.

“I doubt you thought that way when you were five. Come on, you had to think of something.” Cordelia pressed, “My teachers were all over me to plan out my whole life from the second I got into school. I know things have changed but they haven’t changed that much.” The supreme noticed Elliott beginning to fidget, which she only did when she was nervous. That combined with the classic lip bite gave the supreme an idea of where the conversation was heading.

“I think I told my teacher once that I wanted to be a farmer because then I wouldn’t have to deal with people.” Elliott joked, trying to keep the conversation as light as possible.

“And do you want to be a farmer?” Cordelia asked.

Elliott let out a snort, “No, could you see me on a tractor?”

“No, I couldn’t.” Cordelia said with a laugh before her tone turned more serious, “Why do I feel like there’s something you aren’t telling me?”

“You always feel like there’s something I’m not telling you.” Elliott said sarcastically, which just got her a look, so she glanced down at her hands, “I didn’t think about it because I didn’t think there was anything to think about. When I was in foster care I had to focus on just getting through it day by day. I didn’t think I would be around long enough to actually have to deal with it, and my teachers never really cared that much, no one did. I never planned ahead because it just kind of seemed pointless. I still don’t really plan ahead if you can’t tell, I just think about the issue right now and fix it then deal with the rest later, that’s how I’ve always been.”

“Even now you don’t?” Cordelia asked, intrigued.

“I mean, I do more now than I did before. But not like, years. More like a few weeks or a few months at most. I don’t know, I’m working on it, but I’m still kind of in the mindset that everything is temporary.” Elliott answered honestly, “I don’t really think about the consequences of what I do, at least not like long term, I just do it.”

“You do think about the consequences though. Maybe not all the time, but you do.” Cordelia said.

Elliott let out a sigh, “I do when it comes to other people, I guess, but not when it comes to me. Which isn’t good, and I know it’s not, but that’s what I do. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to break that.”

“Why not?” Cordelia asked.

Elliott was quiet for a moment, thinking before she spoke. “Because I’m reckless.” She said, noticing how Cordelia flinched at the comment, “Trust me, you are not the first person to tell me that, and it’s true, I am. I feel like I have to handle everything myself and I get into bad situations and I don’t act rationally or think about it, I just do what I think needs to be done, or at least what I can do myself. It makes sense at the time, but then after I realize it wasn’t the best option, but it’s usually too late, so I just deal with it.”

“You aren’t reckless. You aren’t. A little impulsive maybe, but not reckless. Elle, you’re fifteen. You aren’t going to be able to handle things the way an adult would, and you aren’t expected to. You’re allowed to make mistakes, but you shouldn’t be thinking you need to deal with everything yourself. You don’t have to, not anymore.” Cordelia said, shaking her head.

“I know, or at least I’m trying to know that. It’s just hard I guess… I don’t know.” Elliott said, shaking her head dismissively, but Cordelia just threw her a look to keep going, so she did, “Before it was just me so there wasn’t a question on who should handle it, because I was the only one there who could. It’s hard to change that mindset. I don’t know when I should handle things myself and when I should ask for help because my immediate knee jerk reaction is just to do it myself.”

“Well you can always ask me for help, about anything.” Cordelia said, Elliott nodding in response and offering a small smile. Cordelia took that as an opportunity to pull Elliott towards her as she laid down, hugging the girl tightly and dropping a kiss on her head, “How did I end up with a kid as smart and caring as you?”

Elliott let out a laugh, “Oh shut up. I drive you crazy and you know it.”

“You do, but in the best way.” Cordelia said, chuckling.

Elliott threw the supreme a doubtful look, “I don’t think that’s how insanity works, at all.”

Cordelia looked down at the girl and rolled her eyes, loosening her hold on the girl only to turn out the light as she slipped back down, “I love you.”

“Love you too.” Elliott said after a moment, closing her eyes and giving in to sleep.


	39. Chapter 39

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, I worked 40+ hours last week and I ended up scrapping the chapter because i hated it and rewriting it. This chapter was supposed to be a lot longer but I figured it would be best split into two parts, so that's why a lot of the stuff talked about in here doesn't exactly get resolved right away. Thanks for supporting me and this story, enjoy!

The next day Elliott was back at Hawthorne, curled up on the couch in the library reading one of the books she had gotten the day before. She had almost finished the entire thing, but she had skipped over the part about the Alpha, pushing it off until the very end. While she had been adamant about reading it before, she found the more she thought about it and what Trevor had told her, the more she just didn’t want to know. She had originally brushed off the idea that it could possibly be her, that she couldn’t be that evil, but she was terrified if she read it that she would see it was her. Elliott already thought the worst of herself, and she really didn’t need the help by finding out she was practically the spawn of Satan himself. Still, she was curious, but then again she was always curious, always needing to know more than she probably should. She just hated feeling like she was out of control.

“Why are you always reading?” Elliott heard Trevor call out behind her, turning to face him and rolling her eyes.

“Not exactly a ton to do down here.” She responded sarcastically as the boy moved to sit down next to her, “Don’t you have class?”

“Skipped it to see you.” Trevor responded, obviously flirting which only made Elliott blush, “I’m kidding. Kind of hard to have class when there’s no teacher. He quit last night, apparently he just can’t handle us.”

“Seems to be the theme around here.” Elliott joked, Trevor eyeing the book she was reading, then studying her face.

“You haven’t read it.” He said pointedly.

“What makes you think I haven’t?” Elliott responded, her eyebrows raised and a smirk on her lips.

“Because believe it or not, despite me not being able to read your mind, I do still know a bit about you. If you actually read it, you would be a mess.” Trevor said candidly, making Elliott roll her eyes once again.

“I would not be a mess, Trevor.” Elliott said, knowing she was probably lying to herself, “You don’t have my number. You think you know me but you don’t. I don’t even know me.”

“Well I actually do have your number, it’s in my phone. See?” Trevor joked, whipping out his phone which just made Elliott chuckle. “I don’t mean I _know_ you, you’re probably the hardest person alive to figure out. Believe me, it kills me that I can’t know what you’re thinking. Means I have to resort to normal things like actually listening to what comes out of your mouth. It would be so much easier if I could just read your mind.”

“That’s what every guy says.” Elliott joked, “Honestly you are living the dream. I would kill to be able to know what everyone is thinking.”

“It’s not always a good thing, actually most of the time it really sucks, being able to hear everything. You hear a lot you really don’t want to know and it kind of fucks up your life.” Trevor answered honestly, making Elliott quirk her eyebrow.

“Like what? People’s weird sex fantasies?” Elliott joked.

“Well, yes, but that’s not the bad part. The bad part is people telling you one thing, or treating you one way but thinking another, and you know about it.” Trevor began, intriguing the young witch, “Did I ever tell you I was adopted?”

“No, you didn’t.” Elliott said.

“I was.” Trevor said with a nod and a grimace, “My birth parents were drug addicts, and I got adopted when I was 6. It was good, at least for a while, until I got my powers and my parents found out about it. They acted like everything was fine, they still treated me like I was their son. But I knew what they were thinking. They hated me, thought I was a monster or some devil worshipper. They didn’t get it, they thought I chose it. They thought god was punishing them. After I came here I didn’t go back, figured it was better for everyone. They still call to check up on me, but I think it was a huge relief to them when I left. They haven’t tried to see me or tried to make plans for me to come home, so it is what it is I guess.”

“I’m so sorry. That sucks.” Elliott said sadly, “I guess I just forget that the world is like that. I was lucky that the people I cared about never judged me for my powers. I can’t imagine what that’s like.”

“It’s fine, I’m doing ok with it. Hey, speaking of adoption, yours is coming up right?” Trevor asked, trying to change the subject.

“Two weeks.” Elliott said with a nod.

“How are you feeling about it?” Trevor asked, noticing how Elliott’s expression shifted briefly from neutral to pained.

“I’m fine, it’s not a big deal I guess.” Elliott responded with a shrug.

“That’s a load of bullshit, Elle. What’s going on?” Trevor prodded, making Elliott throw him a half-hearted glare then glance around quickly, “You think she’s listening to us?”

“It’s happened before.” Elliott said with a sigh, “It’s just… I don’t know. When everything happened with the whole going to hell thing she completely lost it and said some really horrible things. And I get where it came from, she’s gotten fucked over multiple times and tricked and has some major trust issues, not to mention I’m kind of a handful. But she doesn’t trust me at all and it’s obvious, and that bugs me. And I feel like I shouldn’t still be upset about what she said because she apologized and I know she feels horrible, but I still am. I just feel like there’s a lot of issues with our relationship that are only going to get worse once all this is over. It was different when my foster parents said that shit because I didn’t care, but I do and it sucks. I feel like eventually she’s just going to give up on me, and I don’t really blame her.”

“She’s not going to give up on you. If she was going to do that she would have done it by now. She loves you.” Trevor said, Elliott looking doubtful, “Don’t even ask how I know that, I can read her mind just fine. She almost had a heart attack yesterday when she found out we kissed. I thought she was about to start hyperventilating when she came to get you.”

“Yea you didn’t think to warn me about that?” Elliott joked, the boy just chuckling, “Thanks.”

“Yea well she thinks I’m hot apparently.” Trevor joked back.

“Gross.” Elliott responded, Trevor’s face turning serious once again.

“No but seriously, you can tell how much she cares about you. I was in the room with her for a total of five minutes and I could tell, you were practically the only thing she was thinking about. You both are still figuring each other out, so there’s going to be issues. You just have to want to actually work on them, together. But you do have every right to be upset with her for what she said. Yeah, she apologized, but she can’t take that shit back. She has to earn your trust just like you have to earn her’s, it’s not a one-way street. You need to talk about it instead of burying it.” Trevor said honestly, watching Elliott retreat from the conversation after realizing she said too much.

“Uh, yea. I guess. Sorry, didn’t mean to just word vomit on you.” Elliott joked, shaking her head.

“You didn’t word vomit on me, Elle. This is what people would call a normal conversation.” Trevor said.

“Yea, don’t have many of those, I guess.” Elliott said, turning away to try and hide her obvious discomfort. She wasn’t one to open up so easily, and it was concerning that she did it with a person she really didn’t know all that well.

“Well maybe you should start. It’s not a weakness to have feelings you know.” Trevor said, prodding a little.

“Where I come from it absolutely is a weakness, that’s how you get yourself in trouble.” Elliott said seriously.

“But you aren’t there anymore.” Trevor responded as Elliott took an extreme interest in her hands.

“No, I’m not. But that doesn’t mean it’s any different. There’s shitty people no matter where you go, it doesn’t just disappear because I’m not in foster care anymore.” Elliott said honestly.

“That has to be exhausting though, keeping everything in.” Trevor said as Elliott stood, moving to look at the books on the shelves.

“Honestly it’s more exhausting to actually talk about it. Learning curve I guess.” Elliott said offhandedly, noticing Trevor’s lack of response and glancing back at him, “You’re staring.”

“Hard not to.” Trevor flirted, which only caused Elliott to blush and roll her eyes, “Just trying to pick your brain a little.”

“Well knock it off.” Elliott responded, grabbing a book and coming to sit back on the couch.

“Well if you don’t want to talk about your deepest, darkest secrets, why don’t we talk about what’s going on with us?” Trevor asked, making Elliott smirk at him.

“Smooth segue.” She said sarcastically, which got her a smile in response.

“I told you, I’m good with the ladies.” Trevor joked.

“In your dreams maybe.” Elliott said while rolling her eyes, “I don’t know, it’s complicated.”

“Wow, I didn’t actually expect that to work.” Trevor said, obviously pleased with himself, “If it’s complicated that means you actually like me, right?”

“I wouldn’t have let you kiss me if I didn’t. But let’s be real here, this won’t work, long distance never does. So unless you are planning on moving across the country when you graduate this probably isn’t a good idea.” Elliott said, noticing how Trevor looked away at the mention of moving, “What?”

“No, you’re right, long distance sucks.” Trevor said, “John Henry asked me if I would be interested in teaching next year, full time, so I’ll be in California for the foreseeable future.”

“So you accepted?” Elliott asked, getting a nod in return, “So then what are we talking about here?”

“I don’t know, Elle. I just… really like you, and it obviously isn’t going away. But you’re right, long distance doesn’t work, and who knows how often you’ll be out here. It just sucks.” Trevor said honestly, hanging his head as Elliott nodded.

“It does suck, but it’s where we are at right now.” Elliott said, the disappointment showing in her voice, “Let’s just… I don’t know. Just keep it casual? You’re right, it isn’t going away, and we aren’t going to see each other very much. I guess just see what happens and maybe if something changes we can just reevaluate then?”

“What does that mean exactly?” Trevor asked.

“I guess it means we see what’s happening with us, but we also understand that it isn’t ideal. I don’t want to keep you from finding a better situation just because you feel obligated to me, I want you to be happy.” Elliott explained.

“So you’re cool with me seeing other people?” Trevor asked, not grasping the concept.

“If you want to. Who knows, maybe I’ll move out here when I turn 18, you never know. I just don’t want you to miss out because you are thinking something is going to work out, I guess.” Elliott said, Trevor nodding slightly.

“And what about you?” he asked.

“I don’t think me dating other people is something you’ll have to worry about anytime soon.” Elliott joked.

“Yea, you don’t seem to really like to talk to guys all that much.” Trevor laughed.

“I don’t, so consider yourself lucky.” Elliott said sarcastically, nudging him playfully.

“I am a very lucky man.” Trevor flirted, making Elliott roll her eyes.

“Knock it off.” She said before Trevor leaned in, the two kissing briefly before he pulled back.

“Hey, come with me to my room.” Trevor said, standing up and reaching for her hand.

“I am not having sex with you.” Elliott said bluntly.

“I wasn’t going to ask you to. Felix and Sparrow get out of class soon and I want to spend time with you.” Trevor said, grabbing her hand and pulling her up.

“You think they won’t come looking in your _shared_ room?” Elliott asked doubtfully.

“Guess we’ll find out. Come on.” Trevor said, pulling Elliott down the hallway.

Later, the two of them were playing a card game with Sparrow and Felix, Elliott struggling to grasp the rules. “But I have the Ace! That’s the highest card!” She said.

“Normally yeah, but hearts are trump, which means my jack is higher than your ace.” Trevor said smugly, amused.

“This is some bullshit. This game makes zero sense.” Elliott responded, shaking her head.

“Euchre makes sense once you actually get it, Elle.” Sparrow said, “It just takes a while.”

“I’ve literally never heard of this game before today. I think you made it up.” Elliott said doubtfully.

“I didn’t make it up! We play it in Michigan, I was practically raised on this game.” Trevor yelled, trying to justify himself.

“You just don’t like it because you aren’t good at it.” Sparrow teased, getting a half-joking glare from Elliott.

“And on that note, we have class so we’ll have to postpone this.” Felix cut in, dragging Sparrow out of the room and down the hallway, running directly into the council and Cordelia in the library.

“You two nerd boys will probably know. Where’s Elliott?” Madison asked, getting glares from the other witches as the boys sputtered.

“In our room with Trevor.” One of them finally spit out, which just made Cordelia’s eyes go wide and Madison smirk.

Back in the room, Elliott and Trevor were joking around, shoving each other until Trevor moved to kiss Elliott and lightly pin her against the door. The two made out for a little bit until Trevor abruptly pulled back. “What?” Elliott asked.

“Cordelia’s outside. You need to go before she skins me.” He said, opening the door and practically shoving Elliott out it, the girl stumbling a little before righting herself and walking down the hall.

She slowly made her way back towards the library, running into Cordelia just before she rounded the corner. “Oh, hey.” Elliott said, “You done?”

“Uh, yea. Where were you?” Cordelia asked, trying to hide her obvious discomfort.

“In the boys room. We were playing a card game.” Elliott said, shrugging her shoulders as she walked past the supreme to gather her books from the couch.

“Strip poker?” Madison quipped, smirking when she saw Cordelia’s face go pale.

“Is getting naked all you ever think about?” Elliott asked, looking up at Madison as she watched her face drop, smirking herself.

“That and revenge.” Madison said pointedly as she threw a glare in Elliott’s direction, which just made the young girl roll her eyes.

Cordelia was weirdly quiet the whole ride back to the hotel, slipping off to make a phone call the second they got back to their rooms. “What’s going on with her?” Elliott asked, turning towards the other girls, who all snickered in response.

“You really don’t know?” Madison asked, just getting a blank look in return, “God you really don’t know shit do you? You were alone with a guy in his room. Cordi is losing her god damn mind.”

Elliott just stared back, confused, “Ok apparently im still not getting it. Am I not supposed to do that?”

“Only if you want Cordi to be a grandma by 40.” Madison said sarcastically, “Wait, you were alone in his room and you two really didn’t mess around?”

Elliott shook her head, “We literally just played a card game. Why is she so freaked out? She doesn’t have an issue with me being in David’s room.”

“You and David weren’t caught making out. A guy asking you to go to his room is basically an invitation for bone-city.” Madison said.

“What is Cordelia going to do when she actually starts fucking?” Queenie joked.

“Die inside.” Zoe said offhandedly, walking over to sit on the couch in the suite as Cordelia walked back in, looking much calmer than when she left.

“Are you girls going out tonight?” Cordelia asked.

“Duh, you think we were going to sit here all night?” Madison said, acting like the question was stupid.

“Just wanted to know if you were going to be around.” Cordelia said as the girls stood, walking out of the room into theirs to get ready. “I have to meet with a friend tonight, so I guess you’ll be by yourself.” Cordelia said, turning to Elliott.

“Ah, so you wanted them to babysit me. Got it.” Elliott said, surprising even herself with the tone. _Where the hell did that come from?_ For whatever reason, Elliott was feeling very edgy and irritated, but she couldn’t figure out why, it had seemingly come out of nowhere. The last time this had happened was right after her concussion, and the young girl quickly tried to reign it in before she spiraled.

Cordelia eyed her strangely, feeling the girl’s energy suddenly shift, and she quickly tried to diffuse the situation. “No, just figured you wouldn’t want to be by yourself all night.” She said carefully, gauging the girl’s response. Elliott briefly made eye contact and nodded slightly before reaching for her backpack, pulling out a book to distract her from the unprovoked rage that was bubbling inside her. “Are you ok?” Cordelia asked.

“Yea, I’m fine.” Elliott said, trying to come off passive, but realizing her word choice was a dead giveaway that she wasn’t, biting her tongue.

Cordelia didn’t need the words to come out of Elliott’s mouth to know she was lying, and she quickly glanced at the clock to see if she had enough time to dive into it, but she didn’t, she was already late as is. She bit her lip, debating on just cancelling, but the meeting was far too important to. She didn’t want to let Elliott know and freak her out, but she was going to see this friend for a very specific reason. She was a descendant of the witch who created the prophecies, not to mention she had some unusual talents of her own that might come in handy. Cordelia felt the guilt creeping in the back of her throat, leaving her child when she was obviously upset, but she had to do it. “Ok, I have to go. Are you sure you’ll be ok?” She asked, moving towards the bed as Elliott nodded.

“I’ll be fine. Go have fun.” Elliott said, looking up briefly and offering the woman a small smile.

“I will, I love you.” Cordelia said, placing a hand on Elliott’s back as she went to kiss her forehead, feeling her tense at the contact.

The tension wasn’t on purpose, but when Cordelia touched Elliott she suddenly got a vision, or at least what she thought was a vision, and it startled her. It had never happened before, at least not in terms of future events.

_Cordelia, as long as she’s with you and you’re helping her she’s fine. But if she falls into the wrong hands, it’s over._

_So what do I do? Do I bind her powers?_

_Binding her powers might help, but it’s only a temporary fix, and you wouldn’t be able to do it anyways, only she can. Her abilities… they can’t be contained, at least not for long._

The vision was brief, and Elliott didn’t know exactly what it meant, but she did know it was about her. It had to be. At first the girl would have thought it was a memory, given that she already possessed that ability, but Cordelia was wearing the exact clothes she was wearing currently, and she wasn’t exactly known for repeating outfits. It had to be the future, the obviously very near future.

Elliott quickly recovered from her vision, but she wasn’t quite quick enough, Cordelia looking at her concerned, “Are you sure you’re ok?”

“Yea, why wouldn’t I be?” Elliott asked, trying to throw off the conversation. She knew she should have been honest with the woman about what was going on, but she also knew if she was then Cordelia probably wouldn’t go to the meeting, and Elliott found she kind of wanted her to. It was purely for her own sick gain, she wanted to know what was being said about her, get some context to the vision, and she felt slightly guilty for it, but only for a moment.

Cordelia was thrown off by the question, getting a strange sense of déjà vu that she couldn’t quite place. She shook her head slightly, “I guess I should go.”

“Bye, have fun! Love you!” Elliott said as Cordelia walked away, stepping outside the door and shutting it, then standing for a moment, trying to think about what was so off with their conversation. The supreme checked her watch one last time before heading to the elevator and out towards the car, heading to her destination.

Elliott let out a sigh of relief after Cordelia shut the door, she was all of three seconds away from completely exploding or having a meltdown, still completely unsure as to why. She felt guilty for brushing off the older woman, but she was just trying to protect her. She didn’t want to risk blowing up at her for things that really weren’t her fault, that wasn’t fair. She sat on the bed for a few moments, willing herself to calm down or at least figure out what was going on, but the vision kept invading her mind, making her completely obsess over it. Her obsession drew her to obsessing even further about the past few days events, about the Alpha. She wanted to read it, she _needed_ to read it, to get some sort of answers, but she knew she shouldn’t. She tapped her hands on her knees, willing herself to just walk away, to call David or do literally anything else to distract her. She finally stood and started pacing, debating with herself whether or not she should just give in. It was blatant self-sabotage and she knew it, but she also knew she had the ability to not let it get to her, or at least she hoped she did. She wouldn’t know unless she did it, and at some point she needed to stop letting everything bug her and just deal with it like an adult. She shouldn’t have been stopping herself from reading some possibly harmful shit just because she couldn’t cope, she needed to cope.

“Hey loser, we’re leaving.” Madison said, stepping into the room, “Don’t burn the place down while we’re gone, ok?”

Elliott stopped in her tracks and nodded, hoping the girl didn’t see how obviously weird she was being, but Madison didn’t seem to notice, heading back into her room and shutting the door. Elliott heard the girls walk down the hall and patiently (or impatiently) waited until she heard their incessant giggles disappear into the elevator, making her decision and sitting back down on the bed, opening the book.

“I was wondering how long it would be before you called.” Cordelia heard as the front door opened, her oldest friend standing in the door frame with a glass of wine already in her hand, “Come on in, Miss _Supreme_.”

“Mel, stop it.” Cordelia said, stepping into the house as a blushed creeped up on her cheeks.

“Stop being so powerful and I will. You’re making all of us look bad, you know. Not everyone can do the seven wonders.” Mel teased, leading the supreme into the living room. “I would give you a house tour, but frankly this is the only room I bothered to clean, and we both know you aren’t here to catch up and drink wine.” Cordelia threw her a questioning look, so she continued, “You really think word of your talented little girl hasn’t spread like wild fire? Come on, you knew you couldn’t keep her a secret forever. It only took a few mysterious phone calls from Ariel for me to figure it out.”

“He called you?” Cordelia asked, shocked. “Why wouldn’t you tell me?”

“Because by the time I went to you had already handled him. So, tell me, why are you here?” Mel said, cutting right to the chase.

“Elliott has some unusual talents. Our magic doesn’t affect her outside of healing, and that isn’t an easy feat. She obviously possesses the block, which probably doesn’t come as much surprise to you.” Cordelia explained.

“So she’s Hank’s.” Mel stated, Cordelia throwing her a glare.

“You knew she was Hank’s.” Cordelia said, rolling her eyes, knowing very well that Mel was there practically the whole time she was pregnant.

“I know. I’m just teasing you. Go on, tell me about your girl. I’m sure that’s not her only unusual talent.” Mel said, sipping her wine and motioning for Cordelia to continue.

“Her mind control abilities are out of this world. She can do multiple at a time, easily. I’ve never seen it before in my life. She can also view people’s memories, and show them to other people.” Cordelia said.

“Ok, all of these sound like good things, and you wouldn’t be here if there wasn’t a problem. So spit it out, tell me her dark parts.” Mel pressed.

“She can kill people, that’s how I found her. She can fry their brains and then turn them to ash. She’s ripped people’s limbs off, not intentionally, but still. We found out recently that she can go to the underworld, she doesn’t need the spell.” Cordelia explained, ducking her head at the last bit.

“There’s what I was looking for. You took long enough.” Mel teased.

“Mel…” Cordelia began.

“Delia, stop. I know what you’re getting at, and you know that prophecy wasn’t finished before she died. She didn’t even write it out herself, someone did it for her. It’s not even close to accurate.” Mel said, giving Cordelia a hard stare.

“But you know more about it than anyone else. That’s why I’m here. I wouldn’t bring it up if everyone else wasn’t so thoroughly convinced.” Cordelia said, Mel’s gaze softening.

“Who?” She asked.

“Fiona, and Papa Legba.” Cordelia said, noticing her friends posture stiffen, “What?”

“Papa thinks she’s it?” Mel asked as Cordelia nodded, shifting her position on the couch from leisurely to business. “Ok, well I guess we really are getting into this.”

“Why would him thinking that make a difference?” Cordelia asked.

“Because he would be the one to know. He was around when the prophecy was written, he knows it in its entirety.” Mel said, setting her glass on the coffee table.

“I thought you said it wasn’t finished?” Cordelia asked, her own body tensing up.

Mel shook her head, “It wasn’t, as far as writing it out goes. That’s why only part of it is included in the books, but it was said aloud. The part in the books, which you know, is two opposing forces join and create it, which in this case would be a witch and a witch hunter. She isn’t necessarily more powerful than the supreme, in fact she’s equal, but the block is what marks her. She’ll be the only one to ever have the capability of possessing both.”

Elliott closed the book, finally reading the passage she had been long avoiding as her stomach dropped. _Two opposing forces join._ That was it, what Trevor didn’t want her to read, and in truth he was right, she couldn’t handle it, as much as she tried to. She was evil, the literal destruction of the very people she had grown to love. It didn’t matter how good she tried to be, it would fail. She was wrong, she had always been wrong. _Stop it, you start thinking like this you are doomed._

But she couldn’t stop, because it was true. Everything she had always thought about herself was true. Suddenly she hated herself for not getting out of the situation sooner, leaving sooner, because it would have saved everyone a lot of trouble. _Fucking stop it. You don’t have to let this happen. You can control it._ She did the only thing she could think of to drag herself out of her downward spiral, she texted Trevor, “I read it, you were right.”

He called her almost instantly, his name lighting up her screen. “I told you not to read it.” He said, but he wasn’t trying to be arrogant, if anything he sounded sympathetic.

“Yea well apparently I get off on completely destroying myself.” Elliott said.

“It doesn’t mean anything.” Trevor offered.

“Yes it does. I’m quite literally the definition of evil.” Elliott said.

“No, you aren’t. That prophecy is bogus and everyone knows it. It wasn’t even finished; that’s why no one takes it seriously. It’s just to scare people. You start thinking that way and you’ll end up following it blindly. You’re still a person. You make your own choices.” Trevor said.

“How can you say that when it’s literally written out? My future is written right here in this book. I need to leave.” Elliott said, rushing through her words.

“No, you don’t. You need to stay right there. You really think you leaving is going to help anything? You need to learn how to control it, and if you are with them there’s no reason for you to destroy them. They can help you.” Trevor said, giving into the idea of the witch actually being the Alpha.

“It says right here I can’t control it.” Elliott said obstinately, “I don’t want to hurt them.”

“You won’t. As long as you are with them you won’t.” Trevor offered.

“And what’s going to happen when they find out? It’s probably going to happen soon. Will they be willing to help me? Or will they want to kill me and get rid of the problem?” Elliott sputtered.

“They already know.” Trevor said, Elliott going quiet on the other side, “They don’t _know_ know, but they suspect it already. You forget, I can read Cordelia’s mind. She’s not going to kill you.”

“That’s what she was going to talk with her friend about. She’s going to actually know and what then?” Elliott said.

“Then you’ll deal with it. She obviously has some faith in you or she wouldn’t even be trying to figure this out. You just have no faith in yourself.” Trevor said.

“Because I know me.” Elliott responded.

“You’ve told me several times you don’t. Unless you’ve been lying to me. That was written hundreds of years ago, shit changes.” Trevor said, trying to calm the girl down.

“You said it will come true.” Elliott said.

“I did, that’s if you try to avoid it.” Trevor explained, “It can become faulty, it’s not set in stone.”

“So if I want it to not happen I should just try and make it come true?” Elliott asked.

“Not exactly, I wouldn’t recommend going full evil. Listen, you are aware of what it is, the harder you push against it the closer you get to it. I’m saying don’t lose sight of it, but also don’t let it run your life.”

The two talked for a bit until Elliott had seemed to calm down, but inside she was still freaking out. They talked until Elliott felt like she couldn’t say anymore, saying whatever she needed to get off the phone. She quickly decided it was time for bed, needing to get away from her own thoughts, and after changing she crawled into bed and shut off the light, doing anything she could to fall asleep.

“So she is the Alpha?” Cordelia asked, “That doesn’t make sense, she’s not evil, she’s the opposite.”

“That’s where the written one gets it wrong. She’s not evil, she’s actually very good, she just has no way of controlling it.” Mel said, watching Cordelia visibly relax, but only slightly. “She does have dark magic in her veins, that’s why she can move between the worlds so easily. The issue with having someone else write it out is they are biased. Despite us being magical beings, we’re still human, and we’re afraid of what we don’t know. Cordelia, as long as she’s with you and you’re helping her she’s fine. But if she falls into the wrong hands, it’s over.”

Cordelia stared back, completely confused, “So what do I do? Do I bind her powers?”

Mel hesitated before answering, “Binding her powers might help, but it’s only a temporary fix, and you wouldn’t be able to do it anyways, only she can. Her abilities… they can’t be contained, at least not for long. She needs a balance. That’s where the second part of the prophecy comes in.”

“What second part?” Cordelia asked.

“There’s three parts to the prophecy. I only know the first two. But good and evil, light and dark, they need the other to balance out. Her magic is dark, so there is going to be someone else who’s ability comes from the light. Probably the next supreme.” Mel explained.

“But she dies at the end of the first part and destroys us. So how does the rest of it even come into play?” Cordelia asked.

“The first part is her rising. She’s young, she doesn’t know how to control it, and it gets out of hand. That’s where you are at right now, where you will be if something doesn’t change. But prophecies aren’t literal, they are more metaphorical. Destroying you and destroying herself doesn’t always mean death. To be honest, I never even thought the Alpha would destroy witches, I always thought it was something else.” Mel said.

“It says it destroys what creates it.” Cordelia stated, not understanding.

“That doesn’t always mean what you think it does. There’s more that creates us than just our parents. Don’t get me wrong, she could destroy witches, or even witch hunters if she’s feeling particularly brave, but it could also be other things. Memories, other people, even experiences. That’s the issue, people take it so literally, because feeling fear is easier than actually deciphering it.” Mel said.

“So what is the second part?” Cordelia asked.

“You said she could look at memories, which is the past. Has she shown any abilities in terms of the future?” Mel asked.

“No, at least not that I’ve seen. It’s possible though, I have visions.” Cordelia said, “Why?”

“The second part has to do with the light witch, actually the two of them together. They both have the ability to permeate time, manipulate it.” Mel explained.

“You mean tempus infinitum?” Cordelia asked, Mel nodding in return.

“Exactly. The two are opposites but share commonalities, personality wise and abilities. They balance each other, and they work together. The Alpha is chaotic by nature, and they do have the ability to be evil, when on their own. The light witch restores peace, sort of like a yin yang thing. You need both for it to work.” Mel said, “There’s something bigger that they are here to do, but they actually have to get to it.”

“So she’s not going to die?” Cordelia asked, Mel instantly getting an empathetic look.

“Everyone’s going to die, Delia. The end of the first part could be her dying, and that would stop it from continuing to the second phase, but it doesn’t _have_ to be that way. Her fate isn’t sealed.” Mel said. “Does she know what she is?”

“No, she doesn’t. She can’t. If she knows it will eat her alive. She already thinks she destroys everything.” Cordelia explained.

“Then don’t tell her until she’s ready. I trust your judgement.” Mel said simply, “She doesn’t destroy everything, but she does attract things that do. It’s unfortunate circumstances, but it isn’t her fault.”

“Try telling her that.” Cordelia said, “You don’t know anything about the third phase?”

“I don’t, but if you want me to I can figure it out. You know me, talking to the dead is kind of my thing.” Mel said, smirking as Cordelia rolled her eyes, “Do you want me to?”

“I don’t know. This is already driving me crazy as is. Maybe it’s better to not know.” Cordelia said honestly, shaking her head.

“Listen, it’s not an ideal situation, but it is what it is. It’s happening for a reason, and I know you can handle it.” Mel said, trying to be encouraging, “You just have to do what’s best for the coven.”

“I don’t even know what that is anymore.” Cordelia replied.

“You do, otherwise you wouldn’t be here.” Mel stated.

The two tried to talk about other, more menial things in order to lighten the mood, but somehow the conversation kept circling back to Elliott, Mel wanting to know everything about the girl Cordelia had come to care so much about, which lead to an impromptu therapy session. “I don’t know, it’s difficult with her. One second she’s completely fine and the next she just isn’t. I know there’s always a reason for it, but it’s hard to navigate it. I think things are finally starting to get better, become normal, and then something else happens.” Cordelia said, “And she’s trying, I know she is. It’s not her fault. I just didn’t think it would be this intense.”

“Well first off, she’s a teenager. They aren’t exactly known for being easy to deal with, god knows we weren’t.” Mel said with a snicker, “Second, it can’t be easy to have a relationship when both of you have major trust issues, it’s like the blind leading the blind. She doesn’t exactly seem to be emotionally available if you know what I mean, and neither are you.”

“Haha.” Cordelia said sarcastically, Mel snickering at her blind joke, “I do not have trust issues.”

“You 100% do. You spent years in therapy over Fiona, only to find out the man you were in love with cheated on you and was secretly trying to kill you. Fiona tried to kill _everyone_ , and made you feel responsible. You’re a little fucked up, sorry to break it to you, but you do hide it _very_ well.” Mel joked, getting a glare from the supreme.

“That has nothing to do with her.” Cordelia said.

“Babe, it has _everything_ to do with her.” Mel said exasperatingly. “She’s Hank’s kid too, which is why you didn’t even hesitate to believe she was lying to you. Whether you like it or not she has some of him in her, and that scares the shit out of you. Not to mention the fact that she has a habit of running away and you already told me she had some weird connection with Fiona, who literally dropped you off and never came back. You don’t trust her, at all, because she’s a direct reflection of all the bad shit that’s happened to you. I don’t blame you, but you can’t expect her to not pick up on that shit. Trust me, she knows. Babe, you can’t expect her to work on her issues when you won’t work on yours. They feed into each other.”

“Wow, you really should be a therapist.” Cordelia joked, knowing Mel actually was a therapist.

“Haha.” Mel said, “That’s not therapy. If it was therapy I wouldn’t have told you what your problem was, I would have made you come to that conclusion yourself, which knowing you would have taken _forever_. This was a blunt analysis, free of charge.”

“So you’re saying I need therapy?” Cordelia asked sarcastically.

“I’m saying don’t expect things to get easier without putting in the work to make them easier.” Mel said plainly, “Do with that as you will.”


	40. Chapter 40

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, got another one done! Also, the first (alternate?) alternate universe one shot on if Cordelia kept Elle should be up shortly, so keep an eye out for that and be sure to leave suggestions on what you want to see as far as thats concerned. Enjoy!

 

Finally, the supreme got back in the car and headed back to the hotel, staying far later than she had originally planned. Cordelia knew Elliott would be asleep by then, and she briefly felt guilty for not cutting the night short, especially considering something was obviously going on. But Cordelia didn't really need to talk to the girl to know why she was upset, she already knew. It wasn't like Elliott's emotions were a mystery to her, as much as the young witch tried to keep them hidden. She could feel her anxiety pick up anytime her and Cordelia were in the same room, the way her energy bottomed out whenever the two of them were alone. She felt her anger spike during the conversation earlier, and the supreme didn't know what made her feel worse, the fact that Elliott was still hurt from the things she said, or the fact that she was trying to hide it from her. Truthfully, Cordelia dreaded going back to that hotel room, lying next to her daughter and being trapped in her own thoughts, knowing she had hurt Elliott time and time again.

Luckily for her, she ran into the girls on the way back to the room, who were obviously drunk and heading back after an excursion for ice. They invited her back to their room for drinks, which she was quick to decline, saying she needed to check on Elliott. "She's already asleep, we checked on her when we got back. God, we aren't inept Cordi." Madison said, "I'm starting to feel like you just don't want to spend time with us. Do you hate us that much?"

So Cordelia ended up in their room, nursing a whiskey neat that she knew damn well she wasn't going to drink. It wasn't that she didn't like the girls, or spending time with them. It was just weird to be getting drunk with the girls she practically raised. "You haven't drank that at all." Queenie pointed out, noticing the still full glass, which made Cordelia roll her eyes.

"We have an early morning." The supreme stated, setting the glass down on the counter in the suite.

"Would it kill you to not be so uptight?" Madison said sarcastically, "I know you get off on being mother hen to us, but we're actual adults now. You have a real kid to parent now, stop trying to parent us. God forbid we actually see you let loose a little, or do you save all that for swamp rat?"

With that, Madison "magically" spilled her drink down the front of her, the girls snickering around her as Cordelia smirked. "Hm, struck a nerve did I?" Madison sneered, "Careful Cordi, you don't want all of us to see you're actually a human being. Might ruin your image."

"I thought being an emotionless bitch was your calling card." Cordelia shot back, making Madison smirk.

"It is, and I don't like to share. You're too soft to be emotionless anyways, I was going more of the stick up the ass perfectionist route." Madison quipped, "Honestly it blows my fucking mind that you haven't collectively lost your shit over the fact that you can't control your mess of a kid. I know it kills you. I do have to say, you're handling it better than my mom did, she just started drinking."

"And you wonder why she never wants to hang out with us." Zoe said pointedly, making Cordelia laugh.

"Oh don't get me wrong, I love Elle. She's a messy bitch and I live for it. I'm just saying she would be a lot more fun if she actually embraced it instead of trying to cover it up. You should have seen her in the greenhouse Cordi, she was incredible. She just locks that shit away so mommy doesn't get mad at her again." Madison said, watching everyone get slightly angry and actually trying to smooth things over for once, "And by mommy, I didn't mean you, genius. I meant every parental figure she's ever had, Fiona included. Kids been through some fucked up shit, I would run from myself too if I was her."

"Speaking of Elle." Zoe began, trying to deter the obviously doomed conversation, "How do you think she would feel if I asked her to be in my wedding?"  
Cordelia was shocked at the change in conversation, definitely not expecting that question to be where it led, "She hates dresses."

"Well I know that, she wouldn't be in a dress, at least not if she didn't want to be. She'd be standing up with Kyle." Zoe said, which made Cordelia smile a bit. Kyle and Elliott had come to develop a strange sort of bond, which was surprising considering when the two first met, Elliott didn't want to be anywhere near him. Cordelia vividly remembered having to drag Elliott down to dinner anytime he was at the house. Then one day after a particularly long council meeting, Cordelia found the two of them in the library reading together, Elliott helping him with some of the more difficult words. The tradition carried on every meeting after that, and suddenly the young girl wasn't so scared of him anymore.

"She would love it." Cordelia said simply, smiling at the other witch as she smiled back.

"Oh yea, the brat's birthday is coming up, isn't it?" Madison said, Cordelia nodding in response.

"Yea, Halloween." Cordelia said, making Madison chuckle.

"Well that fits her. We need ideas of what to get her, since I don't think you'd be exactly down with me getting her a bottle of tequila like I was originally planning." Madison said, "Would condoms be a better option?"

"Madison." Cordelia said sternly, which just made the movie star smirk.

"Just like watching your head explode." Madison said with a chuckle.

"And on that note, I think it's time to put drunk superstar to bed before she gets her ass beat." Queenie joked, handing Madison her pajamas.

"Cordi wouldn't do that, she's too proper. She'd sick Misty on me again." Madison sneered as the supreme threw her a smirk and headed into her own room, getting distracted and leaving the door open just a crack.

If Cordelia didn't know any better, she would think the girl was still awake based on her obvious nervous energy bouncing off the walls. It was a different rhythm than usual, normally it vibrated at a rapid pace, but this one pulsed almost at the same pace as her heartbeat, the sheer intensity of it making Cordelia anxious herself, before it bottomed out into a low, deep vibration. It had to be a nightmare, but it didn't have the same feelings as the ones before it.

Cordelia had been able to figure out a sort of pattern to her daughter's countless episodes. For every nightmare she had, there was a particular energy that accompanied it. The supreme had been able to slowly figure out what a majority of the nightmares were based on what information her daughter would give her, when she was actually open to talking about it. The nightmares she had from her drug addict foster parents had a high, more nervous sort of energy, more frantic than anything else. Those were the ones she had the most often. The ones where physical abuse took place had a sort of rolling energy, like a tide moving in and out. The ones from her most recent home were a mixed bag depending on the night, some nights they were frantic and electric, others they were stagnant. But this one the supreme couldn't place, not until the air turned thick and heavy, resembling that night in the hospital.

Normally, Cordelia would wake the girl up, but she had learned very quickly that this wasn't exactly the type of nightmare that went away as soon as the girl woke up. It lingered, blurring the lines between dream and reality. The few times Cordelia had been around for this particular nightmare, Elliott hadn't woken up, or if she did she was disoriented for a great deal of time. Misty had advised her to just let the girl sleep through it, for everyone's safety, but Delia always felt a pang of guilt for being scared of her own child, especially considering absolutely none of it was her own fault. She debated what to do in her own mind, weighing back and forth the options before moving to sit at the foot of the bed, deciding to try and gently wake the girl, and if that didn't work to leave her alone.

Elliott felt the weight on the bed and immediately shot up, her eyes wide and panicked, staring at a shadow like figure, not being able to see the supreme's face as the older witch moved toward her. She quickly scrambled and backed away from the older witches reaching hands until she was pressed up against the headboard, a loud string of pleas leaving her lips, alerting the witches in the next room, "Nononononono."

"Sh, sh, sh," Cordelia soothed, although to Elliott it didn't even sound like Cordelia, it sounded exactly like her foster father, "It's ok." The supreme tried to reach for the girl again, but Elliott pulled out of her grasp, perching on the balls of her feet at the top of the bed, curling herself up in protection as she mumbled something incoherently.

"What's going on?" Zoe asked, the girls congregating near the door at the noise.

"She had a nightmare, it's fine." Cordelia said, not taking her gaze off her obviously panicked daughter. She looked terrified, her eyes too wide and her body visibly shaking.

"Well turn on the damn light. You can't see shit in here, she probably thinks a ghost is trying to attack her." Madison sneered, flicking her wrist and lighting up the room, showing Elliott Cordelia's face.

At the reveal Elliott's panicked face didn't disappear, just turned into one of dazed confusion. Cordelia continued to try and sooth her, but all Elliott could hear was her foster father's voice leaving her lips, getting brief flashes of him putting his hand over her mouth as Cordelia reached for her face once again, jerking back from her touch.

_If you don't stay quiet, you'll wake the girls._

She rapidly blinked, trying to get the flashes to go away.  _It was a dream, just a dream. Pull it together. You have to be ok._ Her head was pulsing and her chest burned, but she was at least able to keep her breathing slow. Cordelia's voice slowly morphed back into her own, but it didn't matter, the older woman already had the concern plastered on her face, she knew it wasn't just another nightmare.  _You were supposed to be hiding it from her dumbass. She can't know._

Elliott finally realized the compromising position she was in and shifted her position, bracing her legs on the side of the bedframe, pulling in slow breaths as she rested her forehead on her knees. Cordelia was still talking to her, and Elliott knew she should at least try to respond, but she was in sensory overload. She could hear everything, Cordelia talking to her, her clothes scrapping against the bedspread, the sound of Madison's skirt brushing against her thighs as she shifted her weight from one leg to the other, the girls breathing, her own blood pulsing in her eardrum. Her skin was hyper sensitized, each brush of her own pajamas on her legs bringing her closer and closer to throwing up. She felt the tightness in her chest, the way her lungs burned with each breath she pulled in, like a white hot poker messing around with her insides. She knew she should cry, that was what happened after all her other nightmares, but she couldn't. That would require her to be able to feel something, some sort of emotion to elicit a response, a normal response, but she was absolutely numb, so she just sat there, feeling everyone's eyes on her.

Cordelia, god bless her, was still trying to help, whispering, "It's ok baby, you're safe." She must have thought Elliott was in some sort of catatonic state. The young girl willed herself to say something, anything, to let her know that she was alright, willed herself to snap out of it, but she couldn't, all her words and excuses caught in her throat.

Then Cordelia made the mistake of touching her, rubbing her hand up and down the girl's spine, not only making Elliott tense at the contact, but all but gag in response, her voice high pitched and strained when she pleaded, "Please… don't."

"Cordelia, don't touch her." Madison spit out, causing the older woman to look back at her, confused. Madison looked like she had seen a ghost, but she quickly tried to cover it up, "She looks like she's about to throw up. If you touch her she's going to yak everywhere."

Cordelia looked back at her daughter with worried eyes as she leaned away from her, and Elliott felt incredibly guilty. She knew the supreme's way of showing affection was through touch, and by asking her not to touch her she was basically telling her she didn't want her affection, but she just couldn't handle it right then. She didn't want to risk associating Cordelia's love with this, it was just too dirty, too vile. Elliott needed to get through this on her own, just like she did the first time. It was better that way.

_She can't know._

_She'll only blame herself._

_It will kill her._

_Get it together._

Slowly the flashes cleared and her blood stopped pumping, giving Elliott some semblance of clear thought. Really, she should have stayed exactly where she was until it all had passed, but she felt bad for worrying everyone, so she swallowed the stomach acid she felt still creeping up her throat and lifted her head, shifting her body so she was facing everyone, that guilt only increasing when she saw the worried looks on everyone's faces. She obviously couldn't act like she was perfectly fine after that, but she also didn't want to be a complete wreck either. "I'm sorry." She managed to say quietly, watching a pained expression cross Cordelia's features.

"Baby it's ok. Are you ok?" Cordelia asked, instinctively moving her hand to rest on the girl's thigh.

"Cordi, don't…" Madison began, but it was already too late, Elliott was up and bolting to the bathroom before Cordelia could even process her mistake and remove her hand, throwing up whatever she had in her stomach. Cordelia looked back at the girls with the guilt plastered on her face, leading Madison to snark, "Was I speaking in tongues?"

"Alright that's it Hollywood. We're putting you to bed. Probably doesn't help that we're all staring at her." Queenie said, dragging Madison back into their room, "Goodnight, Cordelia."

Zoe followed with a quick goodnight and closed the door, leaving Cordelia alone in the room. Once again, she had done everything wrong. She didn't even know how to help her own child. Hell, Madison knew what to do before she did, and she still screwed it up. She couldn't help but feel like Elliott's reaction wasn't just a general reaction, it was a reaction to her. She didn't want  _her_ to touch her. Was the dream about her? About something she did? Elliott certainly had enough experience with Cordelia's bad side to warrant a nightmare, and Misty had said Elliott had bad dreams about her before, so it was possible. Elliott was obviously still upset with her, not that the older woman blamed her, but she hated seeing her daughter like that and knowing she couldn't do anything, or worse knowing she caused it.

Elliott had finally stopped throwing up, thankfully. As fucked up as it was, she found puking actually helped. She didn't feel so overwhelmed after, like she got all the bad shit out of her. Her head was a little clearer and she could actually think about how to handle the situation, since it was obvious now that she wasn't getting out of it. She knew Cordelia would want some kind of answers, but she couldn't give them to her, she couldn't hurt her like that. This was one secret she didn't mind keeping if it meant that her mother wouldn't kill herself over it. It was better that she didn't know, even if that meant she was angry at Elliott for keeping it from her.

Slowly, Elliott rose from the floor and flushed the toilet, rinsing out her mouth in the sink and walking back into the room quietly, sitting on the bed next to the supreme. "I'm sorry." She said quietly, making Cordelia tense up.

"Don't be sorry." Cordelia said, shaking her head, "Are you ok?"

"Yea," Elliott said softly, nodding slightly, "Just a really bad one I guess. I didn't mean to freak you out."

"You didn't freak me out, Elle. I'm just worried about you." Cordelia said, turning to face her daughter but keeping her hands close to her body, "Has this happened before?"

Elliott nodded, "A few times. Usually no one is around though so it's not as…  _dramatic_."

"That doesn't make me feel any better." Cordelia said seriously, Elliott chuckling sadly next to her.

"I didn't think it would." She responded.

"What was it about?" Cordelia probed, Elliott shaking her head, "Elle you have to talk to me."

"I really don't want to talk about it. You should go to bed, it's late." Elliott said, looking back at the clock for emphasis.

"I'm not just going to-" Cordelia began, slightly frustrated, "Are you going to bed?" Elliott was silent, giving the supreme her answer, "Elle, you can't keep doing this, it's not healthy. You need to sleep, and you need to take care of yourself. You know this."

"I am taking care of myself. You have to be in meetings all day tomorrow, I don't. I can sleep later. If I try to sleep now I'll just have the same dream again." Elliott said firmly, getting agitated herself.

"I can't help you if I don't know what's going on." Cordelia fumed.

"You can't help me anyways." Elliott said, "Trust me on this, you don't need to know."

"How am I supposed to trust you if you won't ever talk to me, Elliott?" Cordelia said, standing from the bed, "Was it about me? Is that why you won't tell me?"

That threw Elliott off, she wasn't expecting that type of response, "Why would it be about you?"

"Because you were upset with me earlier, and I know you're still upset about everything that happened. It's not a reach, Elle." Cordelia said, crossing her arms.

"It wasn't about you." Elliott said, looking down.

"I don't believe that." Cordelia said softly.

"Well that seems to be the theme lately, doesn't it?" Elliott said sarcastically, getting a glare from the older witch, "It wasn't about you."

"You wouldn't let me touch you, Elle. You threw up. Madison knew what was going on before I did. That didn't just happen." Cordelia shot back.

"You really think I've been talking shit about you to Madison?" Elliott said, now thoroughly pissed off, "Wow you really have no trust in me at all. Not that I didn't know that already. I would have reacted the exact same way if  _anyone_  touched me, I was freaking out. It wasn't about you. It was that I didn't want to associate you with that."

"But you won't even tell me what  _that_  is! You don't trust me." Cordelia said loudly, quieting herself down as to not disturb the other girls. She knew it was a horrible time to start a fight, Cordelia was beyond exhausted and Elliott was obviously still on edge, but for some reason she couldn't stop herself.

"I do trust you." Elliott said, looking at Cordelia like she was insane.

"How do I know that? You don't ever talk to me about what's going on with you, you don't want me to touch you…" Cordelia began.

"Because if I didn't I wouldn't still be here." Elliott spat, cutting Cordelia off and leaving her standing there with her mouth open, surprised by the response. "I could have left. When I found out you were my birth mom, when they pulled me from the house. Hell, I wanted to leave then, but I didn't, because I trusted you. I knew you would get me out of there." Cordelia's gaze softened, nodding her head as she once again moved to sit on the bed, "I do trust you. More than anyone else. I can't tell you because I  _can't_ talk about it. I'm not ready to. It doesn't have anything to do with you."

Cordelia was silent for a moment, just processing the mess that just happened. "God I need therapy." She finally said, Elliott staring back at her confused.

"I'm sorry, what? Why?" She asked, Cordelia sighing as she kicked off her heels, sitting cross legged on the bed.

"Because you aren't the only one with issues here." Cordelia said with a chuckle, getting an eye roll from the girl, "You're right. I don't trust you, and it's not your fault. You've done everything right, at least as much as you can. It's me. Apparently I have some serious trust and abandonment issues." Elliott let out a snort at that one, which just caused the supreme to laugh with her. "But this isn't going to work if we don't trust each other, it can't. And I can't expect you to work on you if I won't work on myself. That's not fair."

"And you came to this conclusion in the 20 minutes we were yelling at each other?" Elliott joked, getting a glare from her mother.

"No, I was told it earlier but didn't want to believe it, so I came back here and started a fight." Cordelia said honestly.

"You do like to project." Elliott said sarcastically, making the supreme bite her lip, pretending to be annoyed. "It's ok, it was a good distraction." Cordelia moved to pull Elliott into a hug, but hesitated, "It's ok. I'm fine now."

Cordelia didn't move, so Elliott decided to take matters into her own hands, practically shoving herself onto Cordelia's lap and into her arms, which only made the supreme laugh and kiss her head. "You sure you don't want to try and go to bed?" She asked, getting a nod in return, "You still need sleep you know."

"I know, I'll get it, just not right now." Elliott said, pulling back from the woman, "You should sleep though."

"I'm not sleeping without you." Cordelia said stubbornly, which just made Elliott roll her eyes.

"You need to take care of yourself." Elliott said mockingly, making the supreme throw her a glare from the side.

"I need to take care of  _you_." Cordelia said.

"I promise I won't die between now and 8am." Elliott teased, making Cordelia stare at her.

"We don't have to be up until 9." She stated, making Elliott smirk.

"I know, that hour is fair game." Elliott joked, the supreme rolling her eyes playfully.

"How are you doing?" Cordelia asked, abruptly changing the subject, making Elliott look at her confused, "Usually when you have nightmares they are caused by something. Some event or stress sets them off, so what is it?"

"You are starting to sound like my therapist." Elliott said sarcastically, still shocked that the woman had even picked up on it, then shaking her head, "It doesn't always happen that way. I don't know, there's just a lot going on."

"Like what?" Cordelia asked, "I know we've got your birthday, the adoption, and apparently now you having a boyfriend has been thrown into the mix."

"He's not my boyfriend." Elliott whined, making Cordelia chuckle before turning serious again, "I don't know, I feel like everything and nothing is changing at the same time. It's a weird headspace to be in, I guess."

"So it is the adoption then?" Cordelia asked.

"I don't know. I don't know what's causing it. It's a lot easier to pinpoint when there's only one isolated incident, not a whole host of variables." Elliott said honestly, shaking her head.

"You know the adoption isn't going to change anything, right? It's just a legal thing. You're already mine, legally or not." Cordelia said softly.

"It doesn't but it does." Elliott said, shaking her head, obviously deep in thought.

"Because then you don't have a way out?" Cordelia asked quietly. The idea hurt, but she also knew the girl well enough to know she always liked to have an escape plan.

Elliott was quiet for a moment, thinking with her head cocked to the side. "No." She finally said, Cordelia feeling slightly relieved, "Legality has never stopped me before. Sorry, I know that doesn't make you feel any better."

"You aren't here to make me feel better." Cordelia said honestly, "I'd rather know how you truly feel so I know where you are at mentally than have you hide it from me to make me feel better."

Elliott shrugged, "I guess it's because somewhere along the way I stopped thinking it was a tangible thing that could happen. I stopped considering it as a possibility, and now it's actually a very real thing."

"What do you mean?" Cordelia asked, frowning.

"When I first was in the system that used to be what the social workers would say to get the kids to behave in homes, tell them if they were good enough that they would get adopted. I tried to be on my best behavior, convinced myself that it would happen, and it just didn't, and I was heartbroken every time. Then I guess at some point I realized it wasn't going to happen, and I stopped believing it ever could, I wouldn't let myself even consider it, no matter how good the situation was." Elliott explained, "They didn't actually think it would ever happen, they just needed something to keep us in line, to hold over our heads so we weren't a problem for them."

"So it became a sort of negative thing because it was a way of exercising control over you?" Cordelia asked, curious. It lined up with the girls thought process, she hated other people being in control of her, even in the smallest ways.

Elliott nodded, "I guess. The older I got and the more they said it, the more condescending it sounded. No one in their right mind adopts a teenager."

"Are you calling me crazy?" Cordelia joked, pretending to be offended.

"Yes." Elliott said seriously, which just made the supreme laugh.

"I am not crazy." Cordelia said sarcastically, Elliott smirking back at her before she turned serious again, "You really never considered it? Even when you came to the coven?" It wasn't like Cordelia was hiding her intentions, everyone in the coven knew she was going to adopt the girl, even before she knew it herself.

Elliott shook her head, "No. It didn't even cross my mind until you asked me, and even then I thought you were joking."

Cordelia looked stunned, "Why would I joke about something like that?"

"Because people do some fucked up shit." Elliott said seriously, getting a half glare from Cordelia.

"Language, missy." She said sternly.

"Yea, yea, yea. I got it." Elliott said sarcastically, brushing of the supreme with a wave of her hand.

"So when I asked you if I could adopt you, you said yes just based on a whim? You hadn't even spent time thinking about it?" Cordelia teased.

"Hey, some of my best decisions have come from thinking on my feet. It was a 50/50 shot." Elliott joked.

"I think we've learned that isn't the case." Cordelia said sarcastically, making Elliott laugh.

"What can I say, not all of them can be winners." She joked.

"What am I going to do with you?" Cordelia chuckled.

"I don't know, but you chose this. You could've just left me alone. Then you wouldn't have to deal with my mess." Elliott said sarcastically.

"Elle, you were killing people." Cordelia said seriously.

"Just the bad ones." Elliott joked, Cordelia's eyes going wide.

"Not funny." She said seriously.

"I know, sometimes I just like watching your head explode." Elliott teased.

"You and Madison, I swear." Cordelia muttered, rolling her eyes.

"You love me." Elliott teased.

Cordelia laughed, "That I do."

Elliott stood to grab a glass of water, filling it in the sink then walking back to the bed. "Hey," Cordelia began, "The adoption… it's not me trying to control you. It's me trying to help you, whatever that entails. I don't want you to think that's what this is. I'm not trying to change you or trap you or have leverage. I just want to have you in my life and know they can't take you from me. That doesn't mean you no longer have choices." Elliott ducked her head but nodded, "But if for whatever reason you do decide to leave, I'll come looking for you every time. No matter what. That isn't going to change."

"You think I'm going to leave?" Elliott asked.

"I hope you won't, but I know that you are dealing with a lot more than I can possibly understand, and I know that you have your own way of handling things. I just hope if you do that you come back." Cordelia said honestly, "That doesn't mean if you leave I won't be angry as hell, because I will. You can bet on that."

"Well I'm not planning on leaving." Elliott said seriously.

"If you do, at least leave a note." Cordelia joked, "That way I will know you weren't kidnapped."

"Leaving is always a spontaneous thing. I don't plan it I just do it. If I ever leave a note that's how you'll know for certain I was kidnapped." Elliott joked, making Cordelia chuckle.

Elliott once again tried to convince Cordelia to go to sleep, but the woman refused, so Elliott suggested they watch tv, knowing it would likely put the supreme to sleep, and it did. When Cordelia woke the next morning to the sound of her alarm, the young witch was already in the shower, which told the supreme she hadn't slept.

"You let me fall asleep." Cordelia stated as Elliott finally walked out of the bathroom, hair still dripping wet.

"Yes I did." Elliott responded.

"Elliott…" Cordelia said sternly.

"Don't "Elliott" me. You needed to sleep. Someone had to be responsible here and we both know it wasn't going to be you." Elliott said sarcastically, throwing the supreme a look.

"You aren't the parent here." Cordelia said firmly.

"Ok we really need to stop perpetuating the idea that just because you are an adult that every decision you make is a good one." Elliott said sarcastically, almost making Cordelia break.

"It was the right one." Cordelia argued.

"Well you gave a valiant effort and I appreciate it, but you are still human and you still need sleep to function. Sorry not sorry." Elliott said, Cordelia rolling her eyes.

"You're too stubborn." She said.

"I get it from you." Elliott shot back, throwing the supreme a smirk as Cordelia laughed, "Now get moving unless you want to be late. We all know you take  _forever_  to get ready."

Later, Elliott had once again found herself hanging out with the boys, finding it hard to participate with how tired she actually was. They didn't really seem to notice, they talked enough by themselves, so the girl didn't really have to try with the conversation.

"So you going back to New Orleans tonight?" Felix asked, Elliott nodding in return.

"Yea, looks like it. Good timing, I really miss my dog." Elliott joked.

"You won't miss us?" Sparrow teased, Elliott snickering in return.

"I mean I will, but if it came down to my dog or you guys I would choose my dog." Elliott said seriously, "Plus I can't get away from you even when I am home. You guys text me nonstop."

"I'm starting to think maybe you just don't like us." Felix said sarcastically.

"What would ever give you that idea?" Elliott teased, "No but seriously. I need to get out of here. If I have to be here any longer I think I might actually throat punch John Henry. Dude's getting on my last fucking nerve. Is he always this whiney?"

"Yes." The three boys said together.

"God help you all. Jesus." Elliott said exasperatingly.

"Hey, do you think Cordelia would be ok with us coming out for thanksgiving?" Trevor asked, Elliott looking at him confused. "We have a break and none of us really go home to see our families. Figured it might be cool to come see you for a change. You could show us the sights and that greenhouse you love so much."

"I mean… I can ask? I'm not sure, I don't know exactly what they do for thanksgiving. You would have to stay at a hotel, we're at full capacity." Elliott joked. She didn't know why, but the idea of asking Cordelia made her nervous.

The four talked for a while longer, making jokes about this and that before Sparrow and Felix had to go to class, leaving Elliott and Trevor alone. "Why do you want to come out for Thanksgiving?" Elliott asked, confused, "I know it wasn't Sparrow and Felix's idea. It was your's."

Trevor nodded, "It was. I don't know. I just thought it would be cool to come see you for a change, maybe take you on a real date. I just don't want to go months without seeing you until you  _maybe_ come back here. Do you not want me to come out?"

"No, it's not that." Elliott said, "It's…"

"Asking Cordelia?" Trevor said, Elliott nodding hesitantly.

"I know it shouldn't be a big deal, I just don't want to overstep. I never really did anything for thanksgiving before, but she might have other plans. Considering how big of a deal she's making my birthday she might just be very into holidays." Elliott explained.

"Well, she might, and she might say no, but I don't think she will. She would probably buy you a pony if you asked, in fact I know she would because she's thought about it." Trevor said laughing.

"I know, but I don't want to abuse that." Elliott said seriously.

"If it makes you feel weird then don't ask. I get it. But you do need to take a nap, you look exhausted, Elle. Did you not sleep last night?" Trevor said, slightly concerned.

"Thanks for telling me I look like shit." Elliott said sarcastically.

"You always look great, but even I can see you're tired. Lay down Elle." Trevor tried again, motioning for the girl to lay in his lap.

After a few minutes of arguing, Elliott finally gave in and fell asleep, staying that way until Trevor saw Cordelia appear in the doorway, then gently waking her up. As much as it made Cordelia panic, she had to admit it was also kind of sweet, and also that Elliott even being comfortable with a guy to do that was a big step for her. The council immediately got into the car and headed to the airport, Elliott finally starting to be more alert when they boarded the plane, sitting next to Cordelia this time as opposed to Madison, which the movie star obviously made a few comments about.

"Looks like you and your new boytoy were getting pretty cozy there, Elle." Madison said, "Next time you should try that with his pants off, see how that goes."

"Madison…" Cordelia said sternly while Elliott just rolled her eyes and blushed.

"It never ends." Elliott said exasperatingly as Cordelia snickered, grabbing the young witches hand as they prepared for takeoff, the girl smiling back gratefully.

Elliott had been trying to get up the courage to ask Cordelia about thanksgiving almost the entire flight, each time she went to say something she backed off, her own anxiety getting the best of her.  _Literally the worst she can do is say no. Stop being a baby._

Cordelia picked up on the girls near constant glances, and the signature lip bite. She knew Elliott wanted to say something, but she never did, so the witch finally asked, "What's wrong?"

Elliott stared at her wide eyed, shaking her head slightly, "Nothing."

Cordelia threw her a look to let her know she was caught, "Babe, you aren't fooling anyone. What's up?"

Elliott sighed, then bit her lip again as she tried to think of how to pose the question. "What do we do for Thanksgiving?" she asked nervously.

Cordelia was thrown off by the question, not understanding where it came from, but she still answered, knowing it had to be leading up to something, "Well, most of the girls go home to be with their families, but a few stay and we do thanksgiving together. Why?"

"Well… Sparrow and Felix and Trevor brought up possibly coming to New Orleans over that break since they don't go home. They wanted to see the coven and the greenhouse and stuff. I told them I would ask but…." Elliott trailed off, looking down at her hands as Cordelia smiled softly at her. It was almost cute how nervous she was, but it also broke the supreme's heart that she was so scared. Still, this was a big step.

"They're welcome to join us if they want to." Cordelia said, Elliott looking back at her surprised. She didn't expect it to be that easy.

"Really? Are you sure? Because I can tell them…" Elliott started, only to be cut off by the supreme.

"Really, Elle. It's fine." She said smiling, Elliott finally offering a small smile back.

"Oh, ok. Thank you." She said softly, still very unsure of herself.

Cordelia pulled her into a hug and shook her back and forth slightly, "You're adorable, you know that right?"


	41. Chapter 41

The next few days at the coven went surprisingly smooth, which was a drastic improvement from the past couple of weeks. John Henry had seemed to settle down and actually handle things, which meant Cordelia and the rest of the council weren't so stressed, outside of the usual things. The hardest part of returning actually was figuring out how to handle the whole Elenor situation. The girl of course was told about the mess she made and punished for it, even if she didn't remember, but the council had decided to keep the details of her return under wraps, which left a lot of questions among the other girls. They all knew something was up, but they couldn't figure out what.

The decision to keep everything quiet was mostly for Elliott's protection. After all, if it came out it would definitely make the other girls think she was the next supreme, which made her a target. Not only that, but word had already gotten around about Cordelia and Elliott's constant fighting previously, and the supreme didn't want to encourage the girls to try anything else in order to prove themselves. In order to ward of suspicion, Elliott wasn't immediately allowed to return to classes, instead she worked on them by herself, then she would slowly be allowed to return. It ended up working out in her favor anyways, David was finishing up rehab and the excess free time meant she could continue her old pattern of staying with him during the day.

One Saturday Elliott was sitting in the library, working on homework when Cordelia appeared in the doorway, the girl looking up to meet her gaze. "What's up?" She asked, Cordelia biting her lip.

"Can you help me with something?" Cordelia asked, "In my room?"

"Uh, yea, sure. Right now?" Elliott asked, confused as to why her mother was acting so strange. She seemed almost…embarrassed? Cordelia nodded and Elliott stood, closing her book and walking out of the room and into the supreme's, standing by the door before the older witch came in and shut it behind her, leaning on the door. "Why are you being so weird?"

"Misty asked me to go out with her tonight." Cordelia blurted, an unsure look crossing her features.

"You mean like on a date?" Elliott asked, the woman nodding, "And you said yes?" Cordelia threw her a look, which just made Elliott grin, "And now you're panicking about it?"

"Yes." Cordelia stated, going to open her bedroom window, "I need your help."

"Mama, you are an adult. I doubt you need to climb out the window in order to bail on her. You can just say no. Also there is no way you can scale that wall in heels, you'll die." Elliott joked, getting another glare from her mother.

"I don't know what to wear." Cordelia finally said, huffing then sitting on the bed, resembling a bratty teenager, which just made Elliott smile, "Wait, what do you know about scaling walls?"

"Enough to know it's something you should never do." Elliott teased, "Why are you asking me? Wouldn't Madison be better equipped to help you? Or literally anyone else who doesn't live in t-shirts?"

"Because not everyone knows yet." Cordelia said.

"They know, Mama. Literally everyone knows." Elliott said sarcastically.

"How do they know?" Cordelia asked, stunned.

"You aren't exactly quiet about it." Elliott laughed, then let out a sigh, "Ok, where are you going?"

"I don't know. She said it was a surprise." Cordelia admitted.

"And you didn't ask how dressed up you should be?" Elliott asked, chuckling.

Cordelia rolled her eyes, "No, I didn't. Sorry, it's been a while since I've been on a date."

"Three months to be exact. Except I don't know if that counts since I ruined it." Elliott said sarcastically.

"You didn't ruin it." Cordelia said firmly as Elliott moved toward the door, "Where are you going?"

"To ask Misty to give me an idea of what she's planning so I know how to dress you." Elliott stated, walking out of the room as Cordelia yelled for her to come back, shaking her head.

It wasn't hard for the young witch to locate Misty; she was out in the greenhouse like always. "Hey you," Elliott said, "You told her you were taking her on a surprise date and didn't give her an idea of what to wear?"

"Why would I need ta tell her what ta wear?" Misty asked, confused.

Elliott just shook her head exasperatingly, "You two are insane."

"What are ya talkin about, Elle?" Misty asked.

"You asked her on a date and now she's freaking out about what to wear and she's nervous and I am  _not_ equipped to deal with this much stress over clothes." Elliott rambled.

"She's nervous?" Misty asked, smiling.

"Do not smile at that. It might seem cute now but just wait until she does it to you. I love her to death but she's giving me  _anxiety_ , and I'm not even going on the date." Elliott said, obviously stressed out. She always managed to avoid typical girly freak outs for this exact reason, she was terrible at handling them. "Ok, is it fancy?" Misty threw her a knowing look, "Ok, no, got it. Is there going to be mud?"

"Nah, but there is grass." Misty answered, amused by the conversation.

"So no stilettos or mini dresses, cool. Is there some sort of physical activity?" Elliott asked, Misty pausing, "I mean like hiking or swimming or something, not just walking." Misty shook her head. "Ok, fifty questions later and I still have nothing. Would you just tell me what it is? I won't tell her but I'm dying here." Misty debated for a moment, then leaned in and whispered in Elliott's ear, just in case the supreme was lurking. "Oh, thank god." Elliott said, breathing a sigh of relief, "Thank you."

Elliott wandered back into the house and up the stairs, walking into the supreme's room to find clothes  _everywhere_. "I leave for 10 minutes and you lose it." She said sarcastically, Cordelia peeking her head out of her closet to throw her a glare.

"You left me alone." She stated.

"To get some very useful information, thank you." Elliott said sarcastically.

"Did she tell you what we are doing?" Cordelia asked.

"Yes." Elliott stated, shooing the supreme out of her closet.

"Can you tell me? I'm losing it here." Cordelia said exasperatingly.

"No, but I can help you find something to wear." Elliott said, Cordelia rolling her eyes.

"God I hate surprises. This is why I always planned the dates." Cordelia said, laying back on the bed and covering her face with her hands.

"You planned them because Hank was a self-absorbed twat." Elliott said sarcastically, making Cordelia sit up to stare at her, "Language, I know, but it's true."

"You didn't even know him." Cordelia stated.

"I know enough. I talked to him for all of five seconds and he was a dick." Elliott said offhandedly, not realizing she had never told Cordelia that she went to his hell.

"Wait, when did you talk to him?" Cordelia asked, confused as Elliott walked out of the closet, the young girl pausing for a moment.

"Oh wait, we never talked about that… did we?" Elliott said, wincing.

"No, we didn't. But it looks like you have some explaining to do." Cordelia said sternly, Elliott dropping the clothes in her hand and moving to sit on the bed, "Start talking."

"Ok, in my defense I was going to tell you but we got distracted." Elliott said.

"Elliott…" Cordelia said sternly, using her mom voice.

"I'm just trying to say if I was going to hide it from you I would do a better job. I wouldn't just blurt it out like that, ok?" Elliott said defensively.

"Start. Talking." Cordelia said, still using that voice.

Elliott let out a sigh, "When you were looking for me in hell, I wasn't with Fiona. I was in Hank's hell, from what I can gather. That's where I met Papa and got Elenor back."

"Why would you want to go there?" Cordelia asked. She was trying to not be hurt by the situation, at least not until Elliott explained, but it was hard not to.

"I didn't. I don't know why I ended up there, but I did. I'm not exactly in control of it." Elliott explained.

"But there had to be a reason. Some part of your brain that put you there." Cordelia said, trying to get the girl to talk to her.

"There probably is, but I don't know what it is. Whenever I went to see Fiona it was just a random thing, I didn't even think about her before I went, I just did it. But at least that one kind of makes sense, since I knew her. This one doesn't, it's not like I want to know about him or anything." Elliott said.

"Well some part of you must, otherwise you wouldn't be there." Cordelia said. She didn't blame the girl for being curious, it was natural, especially considering the circumstances. Still, it stung. "You talked to him?" She asked.

"I didn't really have a choice. It's not like I wanted to." Elliott sighed, biting her lip. She wanted to explain to the woman that she only did it to get her out of the situation, or hell her, but she didn't want to force the woman to know that his hell was losing her, that would just make things more complicated.

"Elle, just tell me." Cordelia said, noticing the girl's hesitation.

"I had to talk to him because that was the only way to get you out of there. That was his hell, you telling him to get out over and over again." Elliott said, dropping her gaze.

Cordelia was silent for a moment before asking, "His hell was… me?"

Elliott nodded, her face set in a grimace, "You and Misty, although she just kinda stood there."

Cordelia was just taking in all the new information. The fact that her lying, cheating ex-husband was rotting in hell should have made her feel relieved, but it just made her sad. Hell was supposed to be your greatest fear, and his greatest fear was losing her, even after everything that happened. Cordelia had thought she had made peace with the situation, put it behind her, but in that moment she realized she really didn't. "But you know it wasn't actually me, right?" Cordelia said to her daughter, "It was just an illusion."

Elliott nodded, "I know, but you looked so sad. I knew it wasn't you, but it looked like you and sounded like you and at one point it was you. You obviously had no idea who I was, which was weird, but I wasn't just going to leave you there, even fake you."

"Did he know who you were?" Cordelia asked, Elliott shaking her head.

"I kind of told him? But I don't think he actually thought I was serious, I wasn't exactly nice about it." Elliott said with a grimace, "He was just mad I let you get away. I'm sorry I shouldn't have done anything and I know it."

"Don't apologize." Cordelia said sternly, "You have a right to know about him if you want to, he still was your father."

"I don't want to though." Elliott said firmly, shaking her head.

"Out of obligation to me." Cordelia said, letting out a sigh, "You do want to know, subconsciously, but you think you don't because of me, and that's not fair to you. He's still a part of you, it's ok to be curious."

"I already know everything I need to. He was trash, end of story. I don't need to know any more than that." Elliott argued.

"You only think that because you know I think that." Cordelia retorted, "That's only one side of the story."

"I think that because  _everyone_  thinks that. At that point it isn't just an opinion." Elliott said.

"They are biased. He's your dad, you should get to form your own opinion about him." Cordelia argued.

"He's not my dad. Biologically yes, but he isn't my dad. He wasn't there, there's no reason for me to know anything about him. It doesn't change anything." Elliott explained.

"I wasn't there." Cordelia argued.

"You're here now, that's the difference." Elliott said simply.

"He doesn't have the chance to be here now." Cordelia said.

"So then why are we even arguing over this? He's gone. If I couldn't go to hell this wouldn't even be a conversation." Elliott said, standing and making her way back towards the pile of clothes near the closet.

"I just don't want you to hate a part of yourself just because I hate him. You aren't him." Cordelia blurted out, not realizing how bad it sounded until it actually came out of her mouth.

Elliott paused what she was doing momentarily as she processed the implications of what was said. "I didn't think I was." She said quietly. Suddenly it made sense why the argument even happened, Cordelia was projecting, again. Really, it had nothing to do with Elliott wanting to know about him, it had to do with Cordelia being hung up on Elliott being  _his_  child. It stung a bit, but Cordelia projecting was the only way Elliott got a sense of where her head was at, since she really never talked with the girl that much about it. She brushed it off, at least for the moment, knowing if she showed she was upset the older woman would back out of the date.

Cordelia bit her lip as she shook her head, "I'm sorry. That came out all wrong."

"It's fine. I knew what you meant. You should wear this." Elliott said, holding up a short dress with long sheer sleeves. It wasn't exactly a casual dress, but nothing Cordelia had would qualify as casual, so it would have to work. "Don't wear heels, pick like sandals or something."

"You really won't just tell me where we're going? Not even a hint?" Cordelia asked, groaning once again.

"The hint is that you'll like it. Just relax." Elliott said, smirking at the older woman as she opened the door and moved to walk out.

"Hey," Cordelia called out, making Elliott pause, "I love you."

"I love you too. Now start getting ready, unless you want to be late." Elliott joked, walking back to the library and sitting down, working once again on her homework. She worked for a few minutes before noticing someone standing in the doorway, glancing up to see Elenor. "Oh, hey." Elliott said, surprised. No one had seen much of the girl since she had returned, she kept mostly to her room except for meals, per Cordelia's orders.

"Hey, sorry. Would you mind if I hung out in here for a while? I don't want to bug you…" Elenor said hesitantly, Elliott offering her a small smile.

"Yea, go for it. It's not a problem." She said, Elenor smiling gratefully then moving to sit on the couch, "How have you been? I know there's been a lot going on since everything happened."

"I've been ok, I guess." Elenor said, Elliott throwing her a doubtful look. "It's just confusing. Everyone is mad at me, my friends won't even talk to me, and I get why, I screwed up big time. But, it's hard because I can't remember any of it, I can't even remember stealing the book. It doesn't feel like me, it feels like they're punishing me for something someone else did, but it was me."

Elliott nodded empathetically, "Yea, I'm sorry, that sounds like it really sucks. I can't imagine not remembering, but honestly it's probably better that way. Hell can really mess you up, especially when you were down there for as long as you were."

"I know, I just feel guilty, and like I'm missing something. I get why Cordelia won't let me into classes, I do, but it just sucks, because I know I did something wrong but I feel like I'm getting punished for something I didn't do." Elenor explained, "Can I tell you something?" Elliott nodded, "I don't want this to seem like I'm trying to excuse what I did, which is why I didn't tell the council, but I think someone told me to do it and I don't know why."

"What do you mean you think?" Elliott asked, confused.

"I mean I can remember it, but I can't. I remember someone telling me I should do it, prove myself, but I don't know who said it or why they would say it. It's like I forgot." Elenor explained.

"Someone in the coven? Why would they do that?" Elliott asked.

"I don't think it was someone in the coven. That's why I didn't tell anyone, because it sounds insane and I know it. It's like I remember but I don't, like part of my memories of it were erased. I remember stuff after that and before it, but that part is hazy, and then right before I did it, it all goes dark. It doesn't make sense. Why would someone tell me to do something I can't do?"

"You think they were trying to get rid of you?" Elliott asked, intrigued.

"Maybe. If I knew who it was then it would probably be easier to figure out. I don't know, it just seems planned." Elenor said, shaking her head.

"Well you thought you might be the next supreme, maybe they just didn't want the competition." Elliott suggested.

"Or maybe they knew I would get trapped and they knew Cordelia would try to get me back." Elenor said.

Elliott paused, for that to be the case they would have to know about Papa Legba, which was voodoo territory. "You think they were trying to sabotage the coven?"

"I don't know. I know that getting a soul back isn't exactly pleasant." Elenor said, Elliott eyeing her suspiciously, "I grew up on the other side of town. A few of my friend's moms worked in the shop, so I know a bit of voodoo, believe it or not." Elliott nodded slightly, "Can I ask you something?"

Elliott nodded hesitantly, "Sure, what's up?"

"I know Papa isn't exactly nice, he wouldn't just give me back, and I know Cordelia would kill for any of us…." Elenor began.

"You want to know if she gave him her soul?" Elliott asked, Elenor nodding as she dropped her head.

"I know they don't want to talk about it, but it's killing me. I didn't mean for any of this to happen." Elenor said honestly.

"You don't have to worry." Elliott said, Elenor looking up at her.

"I don't?" She asked, Elliott nodding, "Are you sure?"

"Believe me, I'm sure. She's fine." Elliott said, smiling softly.

"Then how?" Elenor asked, quickly glancing down at what Elliott was working on, then doing a double take, "Wait, I thought they were keeping you out of classes?"

"They are." Elliott said, hesitating.

"But they aren't. You're doing potions homework." Elenor stated, "You obviously aren't in trouble, so why are they telling us you are? I mean, we did basically the same thing and Cordelia can barely even look at me, but she's letting you do the work?"

"It's complicated…" Elliott said, the girl looking at her doubtfully.

"No, it isn't. Either you did something to get back on her good side, or she's playing favorites." Elenor said a bit harshly.

"She's not playing favorites." Elliott stated, shaking her head.

"Then what did you do? From what I was told you two were at each other's throats before the trip, then you came back and everything was fine, it's like nothing ever happened. I'm not the only one who thinks that's suspicious." Elenor said, staring the young witch down.

"We talked it out." Elliott said, shrugging.

"I don't believe that. Cordelia wouldn't let you back in class just because you said the right things. You're hiding something." Elenor said with a shake of her head, "Why is everything now some big secret? It never used to be like this, now they won't tell us shit about what's going on, and no one knows a god damn thing about you. Do they think you're the next supreme? Is that why they're doing this?"

Elliott shook her head, "No, they don't."

"Well it must be something, it's not just that you're her kid. They're protecting you. Why?" Elenor asked, Elliott just shaking her head, "I thought they wouldn't tell me how they got me back because they didn't want me to feel bad, but if Cordelia didn't sell her soul then I don't see why they wouldn't tell me, so something is obviously going on." Elliott eyed the supreme's door, willing her to walk out and save her, then sighed and stood. "Where are you going?"

"To get Cordelia. She can explain this to you, I can't." Elliott said, walking out of the room and into the supreme's, spotting Cordelia finishing her makeup. "I need your help." She said urgently, Cordelia looking up at her shocked, then noticing the girls obviously anxious expression.

"What's wrong?" The supreme asked, closing her tube of mascara and standing from her vanity, walking over to her daughter and running her hands down the girl's arms to try and comfort her.

Elliott let out a sigh, "Elenor saw my homework and she's asking all these questions and I don't know how to answer them. She knows something is up."

"What was she asking?" Cordelia asked, her eyebrows furrowing.

"How you got her back, why you are telling everyone I'm not allowed in class but letting me do the work, why I'm allowed to do it but she isn't…" Elliott listed off, Cordelia letting out a sigh, "I don't know what I can tell her and what I can't and she knows that I know what's going on."

"What did you tell her?" Cordelia asked, trying to get an idea of how much the girl already knew.

"She was freaking out that you sold your soul for her but I told her you didn't. Other than that I just tried to dodge everything." Elliott explained, obviously worked up, "See? This is what I get for being nice to people. You all have to stop telling me things, I'm not made for this."

"Don't ever become a secret agent." Cordelia said with a snicker.

"Oh god no, I would crack instantly." Elliott said emphatically, Cordelia then sighing once again and leading the two out of the room, grabbing Elenor and heading to her office.

"Ok, what seems to be the issue?" Cordelia asked, sitting in her chair.

"A lot." Elenor said, obviously irritated.

"Well let's tackle this one at a time." Cordelia responded, trying to ignore the girls obvious attitude.

"How did you guys get me back?" Elenor asked, "You didn't sell your soul, so how did you do it?"

"You don't have to worry about that." Cordelia said, shaking her head.

"Yes, I do." Elenor fired back, "It has to do with me, I have a right to know."

"You know what you need to." Cordelia said calmly.

"Obviously not. Why is it such a big secret?" Elenor asked indignantly, "Everything lately has been a secret. We don't know shit, ever since she showed up."

"Language." Cordelia said sternly, Elenor shaking her head, "All that matters is we got you back, it doesn't matter how."

"Ok, then why am I still being kept out of class but she isn't? We did the same thing." Elenor said, frustrated.

"Her situation was different. We worked on it and she's being allowed to work on some class work, but she isn't allowed back in class." Cordelia explained, trying to keep things as vague as possible.

"How is this fair? She went  _multiple_ times, and she's fine, but I do it once and I can't be near class, at all." Elenor spat.

"I told you, it was a different situation, and we're working on it. It's up to my discretion on how punishment is to be carried out." Cordelia explained, letting the girl know she wasn't getting any more information.

"So because she's your kid it's fine." Elenor said, Cordelia rolling her eyes.

"No, it's not. You shouldn't be worried about what's going on with her, your focus should be you. Start with that and then we'll talk about getting you back into class." Cordelia said, trying to give the girl some incentive.

"So you really won't tell me anything?" Elenor asked, Cordelia shaking her head. "Figures." She said, standing up and huffing before walking out of the room.

Elliott let out a groan and slumped in her seat, which made Cordelia chuckle a bit. "Well that went well." The supreme said, shaking her head.

"I'm so dead." Elliott said with a groan.

"Why?" Cordelia asked, chuckling at the girl's antics.

"Because she's not going to just leave it alone. She knows I know and she's going to corner me until I tell her." Elliott said, shaking her head.

"If she does I'll just talk to her again." Cordelia said.

"Because that worked out so well this time." Elliott said sarcastically, "When's your date?"

"It's not a date." Cordelia said, a blush creeping on her face.

"It's definitely a date. When is it?" Elliott asked.

"Twenty minutes ago." Cordelia laughed.

"Well at least you can use me as an excuse as to why you are late." Elliott said, trying to be optimistic.

"If I told her you asked for help she would definitely think I'm lying." Cordelia joked, Elliott rolling her eyes.

"Well there's a first time for everything." She said sarcastically as Cordelia stood, walking over to her and pulling her into a hug, "Have fun, but not too much fun."

"What are you going to do?" Cordelia asked, pulling back and eyeing the girl.

"Hide in the greenhouse and hope no one bugs me." Elliott said seriously, Cordelia rolling her eyes.

"Well, have fun, I guess." She joked.

"Oh I will. My own fortress of solitude." Elliott said, walking out the door, Cordelia following behind her until she ran into Misty.

"You're late." Misty joked, a grin on her face.

"I know, I'm sorry. I had a situation I had to take care of." Cordelia said with a sigh.

"Is that why Elenor came stompin' out of ya office?" Misty asked, Cordelia nodding, "Ok, well let's go then, we're losin' daylight."

"We need daylight?" Cordelia asked, obviously trying to get an idea of what they were doing.

"Nah, I just like seein' ya face." Misty flirted, throwing Cordelia a smirk as the older woman shook her head.

"Smooth." She laughed, walking out the door.

Elliott's solitude was quickly interrupted almost as soon as Cordelia left, Madison, Queenie, Zoe and Mallory walking into the greenhouse. "Listen up bitch, we need your help." Madison said exasperatingly, "We want to have a Halloween party."

Elliott looked up, completely unphased by Madison's bluntness, "What does that have to do with me?"

"Cordelia told us no." Zoe explained, Elliott still looking confused.

"Why do you need her permission? Have it at your apartment." She said.

"Because genius, our apartment is too small for the whole coven, plus some. It's cramped as hell with just the two of us." Madison snarked.

"So what do you want me to do?" Elliott asked.

"She won't let us have it because it's your birthday and she thinks you'll hate it. Tell her you want it. I promise we won't sing you happy birthday or any lame shit like that." Madison said, rolling her eyes.

"She said no because she knows all the girls will want to get plastered, and most of them are underage." Elliott said.

"I mean, yea, probably. But she can't say no to you." Madison said knowingly, "Come on, work your magic."

"She doesn't say no to me because I don't ask for dumb shit like that. It's a time bomb." Elliott said.

"Come on, work your wiles on her and make it work. We'll return the favor." Mallory said.

"Oh are you into girls now?" Madison snarled, "You get us this party and we'll make sure you're fucked up enough to not remember it."

"Ok, a definite way to make sure she never says yes to me again is for me to beg for a party then get trashed at it." Elliott said, shaking her head, "Ok, I'll talk to her. But she's not going to agree unless she gets to set the rules, and you all take care of the planning and decorating or whatever else you do for these things."

"So it's going to be lame?" Queenie said with a sigh.

"If you need alcohol to have a good time at a party then you throw lame parties." Elliott said sarcastically, the girls surprisingly nodding in agreement.

Meanwhile, Misty and Cordelia had finally made it to their destination, which happened to be a farmers market that was set up in the park. "I found this while ya were gone, and I had ta take ya. I know how much ya love flowers." Misty said, Cordelia smiling back at her. There were flowers  _everywhere_ , hues of red, yellow, and every color of the rainbow littered the rows. Misty took Cordelia's hand in her own, making the older woman blush and smile bashfully, before leading her through the rows, stopping every now and again to talk about the flowers meaning or to buy some, before settling on a blanket in the park to have a picnic. "So what was Elenor all pissy about?" Misty asked, Cordelia just chuckling, "What? She was."

"She was, that's true. I guess she was talking with Elliott and somehow saw that she was working on class work, which turned into her interrogating Elle about everything that has gone on, so she came and got me all panicked because she didn't know what to say. I had to talk with her and she obviously didn't get the answers she wanted, so she stomped out." Cordelia explained.

"Elle came and got ya?" Misty asked, Cordelia nodding in return with a knowing look on her face, "Well that's new."

"You're telling me. My jaw almost hit the floor." Cordelia laughed.

"Well I'm happy she did, it's progress." Misty said, smiling, "I'm just happy ya are talking again. That was a nightmare."

"It wasn't exactly fun for us either." Cordelia said sarcastically.

"I know, but it's bad enough when one of ya are upset and I can't fix it. But both of ya? At the same time? Awful." Misty lamented.

"Well it would be great if we were talking and I wasn't constantly putting my foot in my mouth. She's finally doing better and now I'm the one who is having issues." Cordelia said.

"What do ya mean?" Misty asked, her eyebrows creasing.

"I talked with a friend, who is a therapist, about everything that has been going on, and apparently I have some unresolved issues of my own that I'm taking out on her. Trust issues." Cordelia said with a sigh, "And then today I basically told her that I think she's like Hank, after saying I hated him. She said it was fine but it hurt and I could tell. I feel terrible about it, but there's no way to really explain it without making the whole thing worse." She let out a breath and looked at Misty before chuckling sadly, "Sorry, I shouldn't even be talking about this. This definitely isn't first date conversation."

"I think we're both past the typical first date conversations." Misty said with a laugh, "I like hearin' ya talk, regardless of what it's about. I like ta know what's goin' on in ya head." Cordelia just blushed, obviously a bit embarrassed, "How did Hank even come up?"

"I guess Elle went to his hell, when she got Elenor back, and she talked with him." Cordelia explained, Misty's eyes going wide, "She says she doesn't want to know about him, but she does, she just doesn't want to tell me that. Some part of her does, at least, otherwise she wouldn't have gone there."

"I mean, she's human darlin'." Misty said, laying back on the blanket, propped up on one elbow, "Everyone gets curious, and it's not like anyone really talks about him, outside of the whole lyin', cheatin' thing. Does it upset ya?"

"I know I shouldn't be upset." Cordelia said, looking down at her hands.

"But ya are." Misty said, "And it's understandable, after what he did. Ya don't just get over that. But she isn't doin' it ta hurt ya, ya know that right?"

Cordelia nodded, "I know. I just want him as far away from her, and me, as possible. I know she isn't him, I do, but she's half his. I see glints of him, or who I thought was him, in her, and that terrifies me. I don't want her to be him."

"She's not." Misty said firmly, Cordelia looking up at her, "She's not. I get why ya are scared, but ya also have ta remember she's also half  _you_. She takes more after ya than she does after him, that's for sure. She's got ya brains and big heart, I swear sometimes I'm talkin' ta a little Cordelia." Cordelia smiled a little bit at that, which just made Misty smile back as she played with a piece of the supreme's hair, twirling it around her finger, "He's not raising her, ya are. She can talk ta him as much as she wants, he's gone, and you are here. She's not askin' him for help in hell, I can tell ya that."

"You're right. She's amazing, I don't know why I keep doing this to her." Cordelia said.

"Ya are both healing. She gets it." Misty said with a shrug.

"Has she been having anymore nightmares?" Cordelia asked, Misty tilting her head to the side.

"Not that I've saw. Why?" She asked.

"She had one in California, a really bad one. She threw up when I touched her, which hasn't ever happened before. It's nothing, just me being overbearing I guess, but she wouldn't talk to me about it. She said she couldn't and it was better that I didn't know." Cordelia explained, "I don't know, it's just been bothering me. She's told me about some pretty horrible things, why is this one so different?"

Misty shook her head, sitting up, "I don't know. Maybe she just doesn't want ta upset ya anymore." She had an idea of what the nightmare could possibly be about, but she didn't want to put the idea in the supreme's head if she didn't have to. Cordelia would probably put the pieces together eventually.

"I mean, probably. But Madison knew what was going on before I did, it was just weird. She was the one who told me to not touch her, which makes me think she knew what it was about, but she told me she didn't." Cordelia said, shaking her head, "I keep trying to not think about it, because every answer I come up with is awful, but I want to help her."

"You're helpin' her just by bein' there. She'll talk about it when she's ready." Misty said.

"I know, but what if she never talks about it? She's a kid, she shouldn't be carrying all of this around with her." Cordelia lamented, "I don't want her to hide it because she thinks it will upset me, it's not her job."

"Whether she talks or not it's not goin' ta make it go away, as much as we want it ta. She's gotta do what's best for her, only thing ya can do is love her." Misty said, Cordelia staring at her for a moment before leaning in to kiss her softly.

"I love you." Cordelia said, pulling away briefly before leaning back in.

"I love ya too." Misty said, leaning back in but quickly becoming distracted by the swing set nearby, pulling away and sitting up. "Bet I can swing higher than ya."

"What are you talking about?" Cordelia said, confused as she followed where Misty's eyes went, then laughing. "You want to swing?"

"Come on, show me what ya got Miss Supreme." Misty teased, jumping up, then grabbing the older woman's hand and pulling her to her feet, Cordelia still looking at her like she was insane. "If ya don't stop lookin at me like that I'll make ya race me." Cordelia just smiled and shook her head, letting Misty pull her to the swing set like a small child. "Alright, so what are we bettin'?"

"We don't have to bet anything, Mist. It's a swing set, not the olpympics." Cordelia laughed.

"Hmm…. If I win I get ta take ya on another date, if ya win ya get to?" Misty offered.

"Are you asking me on another date?" Cordelia said sarcastically.

"Maybe, gotta win ya heart somehow." Misty laughed.

"You're on." Cordelia said.

"Alright, on ya mark, get set, go!" Misty yelled, pumping her feet back and forth. The two quickly gained speed, until they both were flying through the air.

"We really didn't think this thorugh." Cordelia said, laughing, "It's going to be a tie."

"No it's not. I'm gonna jump." Misty said mischievously.

"Misty Day, don't you dare. You'll kill yourself." Cordelia said seriously, but it was too late, Misty jumped off the swing and just barely managed to land on her feet, stumbling a little. "I can't believe you!" Cordelia yelled.

"Well ya won, guess ya gotta take me on a date." Misty teased.

"I didn't win, you quit!" Cordelia yelled.

"Maybe. Now come on Miss Supreme. Jump!" Misty yelled, Cordelia shaking her head as she started to let herself slow down.

"I am NOT jumping. I'm in a dress." She said incredulously.

"I'll catch ya." Misty said.

"You can't catch me." Cordelia said doubtfully.

"Come on Dee, I won't let ya fall. Jump for me." Misty teased, opening her arms wide, which just made Cordelia laugh and shake her head, "Come on!"

The supreme didn't exactly jump, it was more so that she slipped off the seat, but still, she flew through the air and right into Misty's waiting arms, stumbling a little with the swamp witch. "You are insane." She said, laughing before the younger witch pulled her into a kiss. "That was so cliché."

"I know." Misty said, smirking.

By the time they made it home, it was well after 10pm. They wandered in the front door, holding hands and giggling like teenagers, before they spotted Elliott asleep on the couch, Max practically laying on top of her and the book she was reading thrown to the floor. "Aw, look at all that cute." Misty said, the two walking over to the couch to stare at the sleeping girl, Cordelia beaming, "She waited up for us, or tried ta."

Cordelia looked up at Misty and softly smiled before rounding the couch, kneeling down and running her hands through Elliott's hair. "Love," She said, smiling adoringly at the girl as she started to stir, opening her eyes, "You didn't have to wait up for us."

"Oh, hey." Elliott said sleepily with a yawn, which just made Cordelia smile even wider, "What time is it?"

"Almost 11." Cordelia said softly, "You should go to bed baby."

Elliott shook her head no, trying to pull herself into a sitting position, but struggling with the dog on top of her. "Max, you gotta get down dude. You're crushing me." She said, which just made Cordelia and Misty laugh, but still the dog complied. "How was your night?" Elliott asked, finally sitting up.

"I would say it was pretty good, what about you?" Cordelia asked, smiling up at Misty.

"It was alright." Misty said, obviously teasing, which just made the supreme roll her eyes, "Made ya mama go on the swings with me. She hated it."

"I bet she did." Elliott said, chuckling and throwing a smirk at her mother, who stared back in shock, mouth wide open.

"I did not!" She said incredulously.

"Ya yelled the whole time, Dee." Misty teased, knowing the woman had fun.

"You bet me you could go higher than me, then jumped so I would win." Cordelia stated, Elliott laughing.

"Ya still won." Misty argued.

"That's not winning, that was a fake win. It was a tie." Cordelia said seriously, "If I am going to win I want to do it right."

"You let her win?" Elliott asked, amused.

"Maybe. Then I made her jump of the swing, which she refused to do. Then she fell so she had no choice." Misty said plainly.

"You told me there wasn't going to be any exercise." Elliott said, laughing.

"I changed my mind. There was swings and I was goin' on them, with or without her." Misty said.

"Well I'm glad you had fun." Elliott said, standing, "I'm going to bed. I'll leave you two to finish up whatever it was that you were doing."

"My room?" Cordelia asked, although Elliott knew it wasn't really a suggestion. She looked back at the woman a little confused, but still nodded. Normally Cordelia only wanted her to stay with her when something was wrong, but maybe she just wanted her around.

The two older witches moved to the kitchen and talked for a little while before finally bidding each other goodnight, Misty stealing one last kiss before running out of the room and up the stairs, which just made the older woman laugh. Cordelia wandered into her bedroom, still smiling, and saw Elliott was still awake. "I thought you would be asleep." She said, moving to change into pajamas.

"I wanted to talk to you about something. I didn't want to forget." Elliott said, rubbing her eyes, obviously tired, "You're very smiley."

"I am not." Cordelia said indignantly.

"Yes, you are. You're like… glowing." Elliott said.

"Am I normally not?" Cordelia teased Elliott rolling her eyes.

"No, you are. You always look good. Seriously, it's annoying sometimes that you always look good, but this is different." Elliott said, "I'm glad you had a good time."

"Me too." Cordelia said, wandering over to the bed and sitting down, "Now what did you want to talk to me about?"

"A few things." Elliott said, "First, Elenor said something to me today that was weird. She said she didn't tell you because she didn't want it to seem like she was trying to excuse what she did, but she said that someone told her to do it. She couldn't remember who, which was weird and a little suspicious, but she didn't think it was someone from the coven."

"What do you mean she can't remember?" Cordelia asked, concerned.

"She said she can remember someone saying it to her before everything happened, but she can't remember who. She can remember stuff before and after that, but that part is hazy. It sounded weird to me, but frankly weirder things have happened. I figured it would still be something you wanted to know." Elliott explained.

"If it wasn't someone from the coven then who was it, and why would they want her to do it?" Cordelia asked.

"I don't know. She said she grew up on the other side of town, and she did go home right before that, so it might have been them. Basically she thinks they were either trying to get rid of her, or they were trying to trap you into selling your soul to sabotage the coven." Elliott said, shaking her head.

"We have a truce with Grace, why would they want to go against that?" Cordelia asked.

"Maybe they're trying to be sneaky. Friends with the enemy or whatever." Elliott said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Ok, I'll talk with her." Cordelia said, "What else did you want to talk about?"

"The Halloween party the girls want to have." Elliott said, Cordelia rolling her eyes.

"Did they bribe you to talk to me?" She asked.

Elliott shook her head, "No, they tried to. I just said I would talk with you about it."

"I told them no." Cordelia stated, Elliott laughing a bit.

"I know you did, but I think you should reconsider." Elliott said, pressing a little.

"Why? You don't want a party." Cordelia said, narrowing her eyes playfully at the girl.

"I don't want a  _birthday_ party. But it's a holiday, and they want to have fun." Elliott argued.

"I can't condone a party where I know there will be underage drinking, not at the school." Cordelia responded.

"I know, but consider this. They will either have it here, where it can be supervised and there can be rules and safety measures, or they will have it at the girl's tiny apartment, where there's no one looking out for them and it's probably a fire code violation waiting to happen. I get why you don't want to, and I respect that, but it's happening either way. By having it here it doesn't mean you are allowing them to drink or condoning the behavior, but you are putting their safety first. They're less likely to get into trouble here than there." Elliott explained. "You just have to make clear rules. Girls who are underage can't drink, and the girls who are of age have to keep the alcohol in their rooms and make sure it's locked away. We tell the girls if they give the younger ones anything, they can't have another party again. Then if you do catch anyone who is underage drunk or drinking, they get in trouble, same as any school dance or whatever."

"And if this all blows up in my face?" Cordelia asked.

"There is a chance it might, I'm not going to lie. But you have to trust that they'll be decent people. You'll feel less bad if someone gets caught drinking than if someone ends up in the hospital because you said no. If they know they'll get in trouble if they are caught drunk, they won't drink to the point they have to have their stomach pumped. If there's no rules, that's less likely." Elliott said honestly, "I'm not saying you have to say yes, I'm just asking you to consider all the outcomes. Sometimes just because something seems like the right thing to do, doesn't mean it is the right thing."

Cordelia was quiet for a moment before letting out a sigh, "You're too smart, you know that?"

"That isn't smart, that's just knowing that kids my age are dumb." Elliott said sarcastically, leaning back on the headboard as Cordelia chuckled, before turning serious.

"I, um… I wanted to apologize for what I said earlier, about Hank. It came out all wrong and I feel awful." Cordelia said, ducking her head.

"It's fine." Elliott said, dismissing the older woman with a wave, "I know you and him have bad history, and I know that me being here brings a lot of that up."

"It still doesn't make it fair to you. I shouldn't be putting my own issues on you." Cordelia said, shaking her head.

"There's a lot of things I've done that aren't fair to you, it's just life I guess." Elliott said with a shrug, "You're working on it, and that's what counts."

"It still doesn't make it ok." Cordelia argued.

"You really need to work on forgiving yourself, lady." Elliott said sarcastically, "You're still a human being, you are going to make mistakes. You've forgiven me for all the shit I've pulled."

"Language, missy." Cordelia groaned, Elliott rolling her eyes, "You have a lot of things that you are working through."

"So do you." Elliott shot back, Cordelia rolling her eyes in return.

"I guess so." She said, then quickly changed the subject, "Have you thought anymore about your birthday?"

Elliott just let out a groan, "Not again. We've talked about it like a hundred times."

"And you still have given me zero ideas." Cordelia said, eyeing the girl, "You have to give me  _something_."

"You don't have to do anything. You've done enough." Elliott said seriously.

"I have to do something. Come on, Elle. It's your birthday, let me take you to the bookstore or something." Cordelia argued.

"You've spent way too much money on me as it is. I don't need or want anything. I have everything." Elliott responded, sighing.

"Elle you've barely let me buy you anything." Cordelia stated.

"That hasn't stopped you from spending exorbitant amounts of money on me." Elliott argued, "I have everything I could ever want, I don't need anything else."

"I have not." Cordelia said indignantly.

"Really?" Elliott said, throwing the woman a knowing look.

"Really." Cordelia said.

"So you didn't pay off David's hospital bills and pay for rehab?" Elliott asked sarcastically, Cordelia looking shocked.

"How did you know about that?" She asked.

"Because I'm not as stupid as I look. It took me all of five seconds to put it together." Elliott said, Cordelia rolling her eyes and letting out a huff.

"I didn't want anyone to know." Cordelia said, shaking her head, "Does David know?"

"Yes." Elliott stated.

"Why hasn't he said anything?" Cordelia asked.

"Because he knows that you didn't want him to know." Elliott responded.

"I knew he would try to stop me." Cordelia said.

"He would have." Elliott laughed.

"Elle, I had to. There was no way he could afford that. He needed the rehab." Cordelia said.

"I know; you don't have to explain it to me. I get why you did it. I'm just saying you've done enough. Call that my birthday present." Elliott said.

"Elle, no. That was well deserved. He took care of you, I can't pay him back enough for that." Cordelia said, shaking her head, "Is he mad?"

"Mad isn't exactly how I would describe it." Elliott said with a grimace, "It's just a weird situation. It's more guilt than anything else. He feels like you've already done a lot for him, and those bills weren't cheap."

"I don't care about the money." Cordelia said seriously, "I care that he's ok and actually functioning."

"I know." Elliott said, smiling softly, "Thank you for that."

Cordelia smiled at the girl then reached for her, tackling her to the bed as the girl let out a shriek, then laughed. "I love you." The supreme said, pulling the girl close to her.

Elliott let out a strangled laugh, "I love you too… weirdo."


	42. Chapter 42

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, sorry for the delay, I've had a crazy work schedule so it's been harder for me to write. I've decided I'm going to try and upload on Tuesday night's/ Wednesday mornings (for my timezone at least) but it wont always be weekly. I'll do my best because I really love writing this and I want to have a new chapter every week, but I know it won't always happen. Thanks for being patient with me.

"Have you seen Elliott?" Cordelia asked, walking into the kitchen a few days later and looking at Misty, who had her mouth full.

The swamp witch held up one finger as she continued to chew her food and swallow, which made the supreme smirk, "Last time I saw her she was still sleepin'."

Cordelia's eyebrows furrowed, it was almost noon, and Elliott wasn't exactly one to sleep in, "This late? She went to bed early last night too."

"Maybe she isn't feelin' good? She was crabby as all hell last night." Misty replied, recalling the previous night. For whatever reason Elliott had been very moody, which was unusual for her. Even she was getting frustrated with herself, which is why she had finally decided to call it a night far before her usual bedtime.

"Well then I guess it's a good thing we have a doctor's appointment today." Cordelia said with a shake of her head, smiling at her girlfriend before walking upstairs and pushing open the door to her daughter's room, spotting her still tangled up in the covers. "Elle? You have to get up babe." She said from the doorway, getting a grunt in response, "Come on, it's almost noon and we have the appointment at one."

"Tired." Elliott grunted, rolling over and covering her face with the blankets. She had definitely been feeling off lately, but she couldn't figure out why. She had been on edge for the past day, like a rubber band pulled too tight, ready to snap at any moment. "Why do I even have to go to the doctors? I won't get my cast off for another two weeks." She moaned.

"You need vaccines love. Plus, with your multiple concussions they want to monitor you and get some scans." Cordelia said gently, chuckling a little when the girl grunted once again.

"Don't want to go. Sleep." She groaned.

"You have to, Elle. Now come on, up." Cordelia said sternly, walking over to the bed and sitting on it, dragging the covers off her daughter's face, then placing the back of her hand on Elliott's forehead, checking for a fever.

"What are you doing?" Elliott asked, pulling her head away.

"Just checking. You slept for over 14 hours straight. That's not like you, love." Cordelia said softly, brushing the hair out of Elliott's face.

"I'm fine." Elliott said, obviously irritated as she rolled away and sat up, pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers, something Cordelia had come to learn she only did when she was stressed or exhausted.

"Are you sure?" Cordelia asked, getting a look from Elliott.

"I'm not sick." She said shortly, making Cordelia sigh. The supreme knew it was going to be a rough day. She tried to cut the girl some slack, it wasn't very often she had off days. In fact, Elliott was one of the most even tempered teenagers Cordelia had ever met. She rarely got angry or fussy, but that day it was definitely noticeable.

"Ok." Cordelia said cautiously, "I'll be downstairs, get dressed then head down, alright?" Elliott nodded and the supreme stood and left the girl on her own, heading back to the kitchen.

"Was she still sleepin'?" Misty asked, Cordelia nodding, "That's not like her."

"I know. She says she isn't sick but she is definitely in a mood, that's for sure. I'm going to talk with her doctor about it, see if she can figure it out. I'm hoping she's just crabby but it might be the concussion."

"She would still be havin' problems this long after?" Misty asked, Cordelia nodding again.

"They said it could go on for months, especially since she had two so close together. She's had this happen before, getting so angry for no reason. But usually it only goes on for a few hours, not this long." Cordelia said, shaking her head, "I don't know. I don't know what to do. I can't get mad at her for something she can't control."

"Brains are weird. Do ya think maybe it's gotten worse because she's so stressed with everythin' that's goin' on lately?" Misty asked.

"I don't know, we'll have to see. I don't want to bring it up in front of her and make her feel bad about it, so I'll have to try and get the doctor alone." Cordelia said, obviously trying to formulate some plan.

"Well ya said they would have ta scan her, maybe talk ta her then?" Misty offered, Cordelia nodding in return.

The two talked for a while longer until Elliott appeared in the kitchen. "Well hey there sleepin' beauty." Misty joked, Elliott offering an unenthused half smile in response.

"You ready?" Cordelia asked, Elliott offering a slight nod, "Well let's go then."

The car ride was mostly silent, not that Cordelia didn't try to keep a conversation. Elliott just wasn't interested in talking, offering only one word answers. The waiting room was decently full, and the nurse handed some intake paperwork to Cordelia to fill out, which the supreme did mostly with ease. When it came to the allergy section she wrote down shrimp, then went to move on, but Elliott stopped her. "Penicillin." She said, Cordelia looking up at her confused, "I'm allergic to penicillin, and shrimp."

"When I asked you about your allergies you never said…" Cordelia began.

"We were talking about food, it slipped my mind." Elliott said with a shrug.

"Well thank god they didn't try to give you it in the hospital." Cordelia said, only half joking, "Reaction?"

"Anaphylaxis." Elliott said, before going back to looking at her phone.

"I'm sorry, you have a life threatening reaction to it and it slipped your mind to tell me?" Cordelia said, shocked.

"I had never been asked about my allergies before, it threw me off and I forgot." Elliott said, her voice getting an edge as she looked up, which told Cordelia it wasn't the time to have that conversation.

"Ok well you don't drink, you don't smoke and you aren't having sex so I guess I'm done." She said, trying to joke around and get the girl to smile, even a little bit, but she didn't, just broke eye contact and nodded slightly.

The two were ushered into a room and Cordelia prayed the appointment would go smoothly. She knew the vaccines would probably cause an issue, given Elliott's history and fear of needles, but she tried to warn the doctor about it beforehand and the woman promised she would take it slow. "Hello," the woman said as she walked into the room, shaking Cordelia's hand then turning to the girl, "I'm Dr. Addison, and you must be Elliott. Mind if we check you out?" Elliott didn't respond, other than a slight, unimpressed nod, which made Cordelia grimace. "I see we are particularly chatty today." The doctor joked.

"Just want to get this over with." Elliott said, fidgeting slightly.

"Ok, well we have to get you some vaccines, but your records are pretty sparse, so I'll have to ask you a few questions to make sure we are giving you the right ones. Do you remember what vaccines you had while in foster care?" The doctor asked, Elliott throwing her a sarcastic look.

"I don't think I had any." She said shortly, Cordelia giving the doctor an apologetic look.

"None at all?" The doctor asked, just to be sure.

"Not that I can remember. I never even went to the doctor." Elliott said.

"Ok, well let's get your scans done first, then we can give you your shots and get you out of here. Let's talk about the concussions though. Have you been having any speech issues or double vision?" The doctor asked.

"No." Elliott said.

"Sleeping more than usual?" The doctor asked, Elliott letting out a sigh.

"I guess? I don't know." She said, irritated.

"Any sudden bouts of anger?" The doctor asked carefully, glancing over at Cordelia, who's face went slack, "Issues with impulse control?" Elliott didn't answer, just looked over at Cordelia, who also made no move to answer, not wanting to upset her.

Luckily the nurse was ready to take Elliott back, which finally gave Cordelia her time alone with the doctor. "I'm so sorry." Cordelia began, "She's not normally like this."

"It's ok." The doctor said reassuringly, "I'm glad she came in like this, it gives me a better idea of what we're dealing with. Has she been like this ever since the accidents?"

"No, she had a few episodes, but they've gotten more frequent lately. Normally they don't last as long as this one though." Cordelia said honestly.

"Has she been under a lot of stress lately?" The doctor asked, Cordelia nodding.

"She lives in a house with 25 other girls, there's always something." She said.

"Well stress can definitely make the symptoms worse or more frequent. Basically stress causes a chemical to be released that changes how the body functions. It refocuses to just vital fight or flight organs, which can slow down or reverse the healing process in concussions. Has she had any issues with impulse control?" The doctor asked.

"Well, yes, but she has always had issues with that. So it's hard to tell if it's the concussion or just her." Cordelia answered.

"Ok, well has she lashed out at anyone? A lot of times the impulses are related to how she is feeling, so if she's angry it might be her getting overly aggressive or violent, or something else she might not normally do." The doctor explained.

"Not that I've seen." Cordelia answered.

"Ok, well that's good, but keep an eye out for it. It can sneak up on her, and it's not her fault, but it can have some pretty disastrous outcomes." The doctor said, "It will get better, it just might take a while. The fact that she hasn't really shown symptoms before recently is a good thing."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Cordelia asked.

"Just, be gentle with her. I know it's hard, especially when she's like this, but she really doesn't understand what's going on either. She's not in control of her emotions, so everything is to the extreme. Anger, sadness, fear…." The doctor explained.

"She slept for 14 hours last night, that's not like her." Cordelia said, shaking her head.

"The brain heals during sleep. It might seem strange but you just have to remember if she's sleeping that much it's because she needs it. She'll sleep more when these episodes happen." The doctor explained.

"Would this not be happening if she didn't have the second concussion?" Cordelia asked. She knew the answer would just make her feel worse, she already felt completely responsible for the accident. It never would have happened if she hadn't been so angry.

"I think it would still be happening. The second concussion didn't help, but these symptoms can show for months afterwards, even years. It's a slow process." The doctor said sympathetically, "You're handling it great."

The doctor left the room to prepare the vaccines, leaving Cordelia alone for a few minutes until Elliott was brought back in, looking even more grumpy than when she left. "Almost done, love." Cordelia said, smiling encouragingly at the girl, but Elliott just sighed.

"Can't we just go?" She moaned.

"Not quite. You still need vaccines, babe." Cordelia chuckled.

"I've made it this long and haven't died." Elliott said, obviously irritated.

"I would like to keep it that way." Cordelia said, Elliott throwing her a half-hearted glare.

"I'll be fine." She said firmly.

"Love, I wouldn't be putting you through this if it wasn't important. You need them." Cordelia said softly but sternly.

Elliott rolled her eyes but stayed silent, letting out a sigh to show her discontent. "Alright," The doctor said, walking back into the room, "We're going to give you three shots today, then do the other three the next time we see you. Now, we can do these either in your shoulder, your butt, or your thigh. Which would you prefer?"

"Does it matter? They're going to suck either way." Elliott snapped, Cordelia throwing her a look, "Shoulder, I guess."

Elliott's grumpy demeanor quickly faded to one of panic as soon as the doctor set the shots down in her view, staring at the needles wide eyed. Cordelia watched the girl's eyes glaze over and get glassy, stepping in, "Hey, it's going to be ok. Don't look at her, look at me ok? I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't important." Elliott glanced over at her and nodded before looking away as the doctor pushed up her sleeve, Cordelia grabbing her other hand. "Hey," She said, getting Elliott's attention back on her, "Do you trust me?" Elliott nodded, swallowing thickly, but not breaking her gaze, "You are going to be just fine, I promise."

Once the shots were done the women were free to go, heading back to the house in a once again silent car ride. "Ok, I have a council meeting. How about you go take a nap and I'll wake you up when I'm done?" Cordelia offered, seeing how drained the girl was.

Elliott nodded slightly, "Yea, I'm gonna get something to eat first though."

Cordelia nodded then headed in the direction of her office, getting stopped by Misty on the way. Elliott moved toward the kitchen, spotting a group of girls sitting with Elenor at the table, whispering.  _Hm, guess it didn't take long for them to make up._  She briefly made eye contact with them and the whispers and chatter died, the young girl ducking her head and heading toward the fridge. "Oh, look, mommy's favorite witch." One of the girls snickered, Elliott rolling her eyes.  _Of course she told them. Nothing like gossip to win back your friends._

"So are you going to actually tell us what's going on? Or are you going to get mommy to save you again?" Elenor asked, the bitterness in her voice evident.

"I don't need her to save me." Elliott snarked, "I can handle you just fine on my own."

"Didn't seem that way last time." One of the girls shot back, Elliott finally turning to face them. "You know none of this happened before you got here. Now they're keeping secrets."

"They wouldn't be keeping secrets if your little friend wasn't so full of herself. She's the one who got herself stuck, she's the reason for the secrets." Elliott shot back, feeling the anger bubbling back up inside her.  _Reign it in. Don't give them what they want._

"Yea, why is she getting punished but you aren't? Last time I checked she wasn't the only one going to hell without permission." One of the girls said, smirking, "Unless that was all a big lie to make us think you actually have powers. We all know you aren't even magic. You're just pretending to be a witch so you can stay here."

"I doubt I would need that to stay here." Elliott said, rolling her eyes, "Why would she lie about that? There was literally no reason for it."

"You tell me." Elenor snarked, "She needs some sort of reason as to why she's been slipping. She can't handle it anymore, not that she ever could. You show up and suddenly boys are dying, headmasters are being killed, girls are getting stuck in hell. You're like a walking hurricane. Everything has been messed up since you got here."

"Believe it or not that has nothing to do with me." Elliott said condescendingly, turning back towards the counter behind her, watching out of the corner of her eye as Madison and Zoe stood in the doorway, ready to intervene.

"It has everything to do with you. Cordelia has lost her touch, she might as well do us all a favor and die now. Give a chance for a decent supreme to rise." Elenor said, rambling on about the coven.

_Snap._

Within the second Elliott had pushed inside her head, forcing the girl to be quiet and making her freeze, her own body out of her control. "What was that about me not having any powers?" Elliott said, her voice dark and emotionless as she turned to face the girl.

"You can't do that." One of the girls said, Elliott choosing to shut her up too, then a third girl when she tried to say something.

"Elliott, stop." Zoe said, trying to diffuse the situation and alerting Cordelia, but Elliott ignored her, "Elliott, seriously. Let them go."

Elliott didn't break her gaze from Elenor, smirking when she saw the fear in her eyes. She wanted to make her scared, more than scared. She ignored the pleas from Madison and Zoe, knowing they could do nothing to stop her, and focused on Elenor, a slow drip of blood coming out her nose. She wanted Elenor to know who really had the power in this situation, to make sure this didn't happen again. She didn't have time for the petty drama. She focused on the girl and watched the slow drip turn into a steady stream, her eyes hard as she stared at the terrified girl.

Cordelia heard the girls shouting and walked over, and it took her a second to actually realize what was going on. She watched the blood drip from Elenor's nose onto the hardwood floor, Elliott's pupils so blown her eyes were practically black, and Cordelia's mouth dropped open as she realized what exactly her daughter was doing. "Elliott, stop." She said forcefully, the girl smirking a little bit as she pulled back, never breaking eye contact with the other witch, "My office, now."

"What the hell were you thinking?" Cordelia said loudly, shaking her head in disbelief at her daughter who was slumped in her chair.

"I'm  _thinking_  I should have left her in hell." Elliott said bluntly, her face hard and her eyes still dark.

Cordelia threw the girl a look, which caused Elliott to roll her eyes, "You tried to kill her."

"I wasn't going to kill her." Elliott snarked, "I was just scaring her."

"You could have. You know you don't have complete control over it, Elliott." Cordelia said loudly, trying her best to reason with the obviously unreasonable girl.

"Obviously I have enough. She's not dead." Elliott spat back, "The other girls lose their shit and use magic on each other all the time."

"They don't do  _that_. They don't give each other brain damage." Cordelia said, still horrified by the events.

"That's because they  _can't_  do that, and a little brain damage might do her some good." Elliott said, Cordelia letting out a frustrated sigh.

"So you want them to be scared of you? That's what this was?" Cordelia asked, Elliott rolling her eyes.

"No, I'm not your mother." She sneered, Cordelia tensing at the obvious jab.

"Well you sure are acting like her." Cordelia shot back.

"Well much to your disbelief I do have some semblance of self-control. I wasn't going to kill her. She tried to back me into a corner and I lost it." Elliott said.

"You can't afford to lose it." Cordelia said seriously.

"So that's why you're so mad? Because you couldn't stop me?" Elliott asked bluntly, smirking a little. Cordelia tried to not let it get to her, she knew the girl wasn't in her right state of mind, but she really did know how to push all the right buttons.

"No, Elliott. I'm mad because you hurt another student and it could have gone over much worse. The fact that if this were to happen again I couldn't stop you is just icing on the cake. Believe it or not, not everything is about me controlling you." Cordelia said, shaking her head, "Go lie down. There's no use in talking to you when you are like this. We'll talk later."

"When I'm like what?" Elliott asked condescendingly, Cordelia throwing her a look before shaking her head.

"I have the council meeting then I have to get David from the hospital. I'll come get you when I get back. Stay in your room until then." Cordelia said flatly, staring at the girl a moment before walking out of her office and downstairs to where the council members were helping clean up Elenor. "We're late." Cordelia said harshly before turning on her heel and starting to head back to her office, "Let's go."

Madison shared looks with Zoe and Queenie, noticing the supreme's obvious irritation, "Well I guess she really pissed you off." The three headed to Cordelia's office and sat down, talking about regular council proceedings for as long as they could before they addressed the obvious elephant in the room. "So what's the damage?" Madison asked, Cordelia shooting her a glare, "Come on. You walked out all pissy and you expect us to not ask questions? What did she say?"

"Did she tell you what happened?" Zoe asked.

"No, she didn't. She was being difficult so I'm going to talk with her later, then decide what the punishment will be." Cordelia said.

"The punishment is the same for any girl who uses her powers on another witch." Zoe said.

"Yes but it's usually not this severe. She could have killed her." Cordelia said defensively.

"So you're going to nail her to the cross to prove you aren't playing favorites?" Madison asked, "Come on Cordi, Elliott never loses her shit, and Elenor is a fucking entitled brat. I would have snapped long before she did."

"So you think what she did was perfectly ok?" Cordelia asked, stunned.

"We aren't saying it was ok, we're just saying we get where it came from. Elenor was looking for a fight. At least let her explain her side before you punish her so severely." Zoe said.

"I don't care what the reason was. She hurt another student. That can't happen, end of story. If it happens again and she loses control and kills someone, she'll have to be killed. I can't let it slide." Cordelia said.

"We aren't saying do nothing, genius." Madison snarked, "We're saying don't skewer her for it. Yea, it was pretty messed up, but I think we can all agree Elle hasn't exactly been herself. This isn't normal for her, she had one bad day."

"She can't afford to have bad days." Cordelia said firmly. The council had briefly touched on Elliott being the Alpha, mostly just so everyone was aware. "She needs to be able to control it."

"Cordelia," Zoe said gently, "You can't punish her for something that hasn't happened yet."

"Especially something she doesn't even know about. We're trying to keep her here, and if you keep riding her ass like this she's going to duck out as soon as she can." Madison snarked.

"At the end of the day it's your decision, you know what's best for everyone. We're just offering you some advice." Zoe said, trying to smooth things over before they got any worse.

Council was adjourned and Cordelia headed off for the hospital after briefly checking on Elliott, who was sleeping. "Sorry, it's not exactly the best situation to come home to." Cordelia said apologetically once David had gotten into the car, "Elliott has been off and she ended up losing it and giving another girl a nosebleed, so everyone's a bit…  _heated_."

"Elliott punched someone?" David asked, concerned, but realized what happened when Cordelia shook her head, "Why would she do that? That's not like her."

"I don't know. I didn't see what happened, I just came in at the end and told her to stop, which thankfully she did. But she's been in a weird mood for the past couple of days, her doctor thinks it's the concussion. I tried to talk with her about it after but all she wanted to do was fight with me." Cordelia explained.

"It has to be. Elle wouldn't normally do that." David said shaking his head.

"She's never done something like this before?" Cordelia asked.

"Not that I've seen. She hates that she even has powers." David said offhandedly.

"She hates them?" Cordelia asked, David realizing his mistake.

"She's better about it now than she used to be, but still not enough were she would use them against someone else without needing to." David explained, "She got into a lot of trouble because of them when we were kids, it wasn't exactly acceptable."

"The girls think I'm being too hard on her." Cordelia admitted, "Not that I've even decided what I'm going to do yet."

"They aren't her parent though, you are." David said.

"So you think I should punish her?" Cordelia asked.

"I think you should do whatever you feel is right. Concussion or not she still did it. Although, I can tell you for certain that once she gets in her right mind and realizes what she did, she's going to punish herself more than you ever could. That you can count on." David said.

"Yea, that doesn't make my job any easier." Cordelia said sarcastically.

Back at the house, Elliott had woken up from her nap and was definitely in a better mindset, if you could call it that. Her unrelenting anger at everyone and everything had then turned into anger with herself for losing it. Her own self-control was the one good quality she had, and she threw it all away just to get some girl to leave her alone. She beat herself up until Cordelia returned, pushing open her door to see her awake and sitting on her bed. "You in a better mood?" She asked, Elliott nodding slightly, "Let's talk in my office then."

"Why did we have to talk in your office? There was no one in my room." Elliott asked, confused as to why they had to relocate.

Cordelia shut the door behind her, motioning to it, "Silencing spell. No one can hear anything inside this room when the door is closed."

"Ah." Elliott said, staring back down at her hands.

"You're quiet." Cordelia said softly, walking over to her desk, leaning on it.

"There's not really much to say." Elliott said, shaking her head.

"What the hell happened, Elle?" Cordelia sighed.

Elliott shook her head slightly, "Doesn't matter. What's my punishment?"

"Elle, come on. I know there was a reason behind it. You aren't the type to just lose it, babe, even when you aren't thinking straight." Cordelia said, trying to get the girl to explain it to her.

"Well I did." Elliott said softly, not looking up.

"So you are saying you are completely in the wrong here?" Cordelia asked, "You know the severity of your punishment is at my discretion, and right now it's not exactly going in your favor."

"I don't need it to be in my favor." Elliott said, finally making eye contact with the supreme, "What is it?"

"You really aren't going to talk to me?" Cordelia asked, confused. She was trying to get the girl to at least defend herself, but Elliott just wasn't going for it. Elliott just stared back at her, so with a sigh she continued, "Fine. You are on dish duty for the next week. No greenhouse and no library indefinitely, you can read but not any of the magic books, and you'll keep mostly to your room until I say otherwise. Understood?"

Elliott nodded and stood, moving towards the door. "Oh," Cordelia said, making Elliott look back at her, "You also have to apologize to Elenor."

"No." Elliott said softly, shocking the supreme, "I won't. You can add on whatever other punishment you would like, but I won't do that." She wasn't being defiant, which is why Cordelia didn't exactly know how to respond.

"But you admitted you were wrong." She sputtered, more confused than anything else.

"I know I handled it wrong, and I regret it. But I don't regret handling it, and I can't apologize just to save face. I'll do whatever else you want, but not that." Elliott said, smiling sadly before walking out of the office and back into her room, closing the door behind her.

Cordelia knew her daughter well enough to know there was obviously something else going on, the fact that she wouldn't apologize confirmed it, but Elliott didn't want to tell her, which only made her grow more concerned. What did Elenor say that caused her to lose it like that? It had to be something major, Elliott wasn't really phased by much. Cordelia knew the punishment she gave was harsh, much harsher than she would have given any of the other girls. She did it on purpose, hoping to make Elliott balk at it and tell her what was going on, but the girl just agreed, which only added to her stress. She checked the time on her watch, it was half past six. Most of the girls had decided to go out that night for dinner and a movie, since the chef was on vacation, but she still had to feed the rest of the girls. She quickly picked up her phone and ordered pizza, knowing it was one of Elliott's favorites, then headed out to pick it up.

A half hour later she walked into the kitchen, a stack of pizza boxes in her hands, and spotted Misty over by the fridge, a stack of small plastic cups next to her. "What are you doing?" Cordelia asked, smiling at the witch.

Misty turned to face her, a weird look on her face, "Someone made a bunch of Jell-O in these little cups, so I ate some cause I was hungry. But I think they were bad or somethin' cause I don't feel right and my nose feels all funny."

Cordelia stared at Misty wide eyed, thinking it was some sort of joke, then bust out laughing. "Whatdaya laughin' at? This ain't funny." Misty said, oblivious to her slightly slurred speech.

"Mist- Those are Jell-O shots. They're alcoholic. You aren't sick, you're drunk." Cordelia laughed, Misty going wide eyed, "Remnd me to kill Madison later."

"Shit." She said, the panic evident on her face which only made Cordelia laugh harder, "I've never been drunk before."

"Seriously?" Cordelia asked, stunned, "Why?"

"Because where I come from alcohol is the devil's drink." Misty said seriously before her eyes going wide once again, dropping her head into her hands, "Oh god. I'm going to hell."

"You are not." Cordelia teased, sliding a box of pizza over to her, "Just eat this and relax. You're going to be fine."

Misty looked at the box and back at Cordelia before nodding, opening it just as Elliott walked downstairs. Cordelia glanced up at her, still laughing, which made Elliott stop in her tracks. "What?" She asked.

"Misty is drunk." Cordelia said with a snicker, Elliott looking down before offering an unenthusiastic snicker, "There's pizza if you want some."

"No, I'm ok. Just came to get some water." Elliott said quietly, quickly moving around the kitchen before disappearing back upstairs.

"What's wrong with her?" Misty slurred, looking up at the supreme.

"She's mad at me." Cordelia said with a sigh.

"Talk didn't go well?" Misty asked, Cordelia shaking her head.

"It went fine, I guess…" Cordelia began, "She took responsibility for it and didn't really fight with me, but she also refused to tell me what happened, and she also said she wouldn't apologize. I tried to get her to tell me by giving her a pretty strict punishment, but she wouldn't tell me. I don't know, it just seems off."

"Well Elle wouldn't lash out like that without good reason, concussion or not." Misty said, "But why wouldn't she tell ya?"

"I don't know. I don't get it." Cordelia said, shaking her head as Madison and Zoe walked in the room, the supreme turning to face them, "Jell-O shots? Really? You know there isn't supposed to be any drinking at this party."

"No  _underage_  drinking." Madison said, rolling her eyes before spotting the empty cups on the counter, "Did you let swamp rat have them?"

"I didn't know they were booze Maddie." Misty said pointedly.

"Great now we're going to be short." Madison sneered.

"Considering you shouldn't have them at all I don't see it as an issue." Cordelia said.

"We were going to keep them in Mallory's room, genius. The girls might not be able to drink but we sure as fuck can." Madison said.

"You put them in the fridge where all the girls can get to them, Madison." Cordelia said.

"We did them here because we didn't have the kitchen space, we just needed them to set before we could take them back to the apartment, and all the girls were gone anyways. We didn't expect your girlfriend to go eating other people's food." Madison sneered, rolling her eyes as Misty let out a huff.

"How did your conversation with Elliott go?" Zoe asked, trying to change the subject.

"Yea did you go all hardass on her?" Madison asked.

"Yes." Misty answered, Cordelia throwing her a look.

"God Cordi, do you get off on ignoring us or what? Give the girl a damn break." Madison said.

"I only gave her a harsh punishment because she wouldn't tell me what happened. I can't help her if she won't help herself." Cordelia said exasperatingly.

"I thought you didn't care what happened?" Madison asked.

"I figured I should at least hear her out before I made my decision." Cordelia said.

"She really didn't tell you?" Zoe asked, Cordelia shaking her head.

"She refused to apologize too." Cordelia said.

"I wouldn't either if I was her. Bitch deserved it. I would have just killed her, saved everyone the trouble." Madison said.

"What happened?" Cordelia asked, realizing Madison and Zoe were actually there for the whole ordeal.

Madison and Zoe looked at each other for a second, Zoe hesitating before Madison waved for her to tell the story. "Well, Elenor kept hounding Elliott to tell her what was going on, but Elliott wouldn't budge, so she started to say things about her. Basically that she couldn't handle them herself, that she didn't actually have any powers, basically blaming everything that has happened on her. Elliott seemed ok until…." Zoe trailed off.

"Until?" Cordelia asked, trying to get all of the information out.

"We can't say for certain what set her off, but she seemed fine until Elenor starting saying things about you, that's when everything went south." Zoe spit out.

"Saying what kind of things?" Cordelia asked, Madison and Zoe sharing a look.

"Things that made me want to snap her neck, and I don't even like you that much." Madison said, "Look, I don't blame her for snapping. Elenor was looking to start a fight, she has been since she got back from hell. If anyone is to blame for this, it's her."

"Honestly," Zoe said, "I think we should consider expelling her. It's not the first time something like that has come out of her mouth and at this point she isn't even interested in getting back into classes, she just wants to cause problems."

Later, Misty and Cordelia were sitting on the couch in the living room, Cordelia mostly keeping to herself. "You feeling ok?" She finally asked, Misty glancing over at her.

"I'll be fine. Just not used ta it." Misty said, "How are ya doing?"

"Not great." Cordelia said honestly, sighing, "I just feel so torn. I have to punish Elliott, because its what I would do if any of the other girls did this, but she did it because of me."

"And ya don't want ta punish her for carin'." Misty stated, Cordelia nodding in return.

"She shouldn't be defending me, though. That's not her job." Cordelia said.

"If she wasn't havin her own issues this never woulda happened." Misty said.

"I know, and that just makes me not want to punish her more. But I can't let the girls think I'm playing favorites. I have to do something." Cordelia said.

"Ya just have ta do what ya think is best. They aren't gonna understand every decision ya make and they don't need ta." Misty offered,"Ya need ta go easy on Elenor though, she's just tryin' ta cope with everythin' that's happened."

"What do you mean?" Cordelia asked.

"It's hard ta know ya went through somethin' terrible and not remember any of it, because the fear is still there but there's no reason for it, at least not one that you can remember. She's just lashing out at ya because she knows that you know more than she does." Misty explained, her thoughts unfiltered because of her still slightly drunken state.

"Do you feel this way?" Cordelia asked, slightly concerned. It had never even occurred to her that Misty might be struggling, mostly because she knew the swamp witch didn't remember anything.

Misty nodded, "Yea, I just handle it differently."

"Mist, I can't tell her what happened. I wish I could, but I have Elliott to think about. If I tell her then word is going to get around and it will just make Elliott a target. I can't do that to her." Cordelia said.

"I know, I don't think ya should tell her about Elle. But ya gotta give her somethin', even if it's a lie. If ya don't she's goin' ta lose it, and soon. It's only a matter of time before she sends herself to hell again." Misty said seriously.

"Why would she do that? She'll just get trapped again." Cordelia said, confused.

"Because it's the only thing she can do ta try and fix it. I know she will because sometimes I want ta too. I know if I do it I'll just be stuck again but that doesn't stop me from thinkin' about it at 2am when I can't sleep. Ya brain doesn't always handle things in a rational manner." Misty explained, Cordelia's eyes going wide in panic.

"You  _want_  to go back to hell?" She asked, obviously upset. She couldn't believe it was actually something the swamp witch was considering, that she was considering  _killing_  herself. She felt a familiar wave of anxiety wash over her, the kind she hadn't felt since Fiona had died.

Misty's face dropped, mentally kicking herself for letting it slip out in her drunken haze. She had said too much, been too honest, and she instantly tried to backtrack. "No, I mean…" She began.

"You mean what? That you would rather be in hell than be here? That you aren't happy here?" Cordelia said, her voice shaking as hard as she was. Misty tried to talk to her, to calm her down and justify herself, but Cordelia really wasn't listening by that point, the conversation being the final straw in her already horrible day. "I… I have to go to bed." She said, suddenly deciding she needed to be anywhere but there. "Goodnight, Misty. I'll see you…." She trailed off, before shaking her head, any traces of normal thought long gone from her brain.

"Dee…" Misty said, cursing herself for letting things get out of hand. She immediately regretted every single choice she made that night as Cordelia wandered upstairs. She should have known better than to say anything. She knew how much her disappearing had wrecked Cordelia the first time around, and to admit a part of her wanted to go back? She was stupid, more than stupid.

Cordelia headed upstairs to her room and paced, willing herself to get it together. She heard Misty's quiet footsteps up the stairs, the soft click of her door shutting, and she finally started to cry. She knew she wasn't being rational, that she handled it all wrong, but she wasn't exactly in control of her emotions at the moment. She was bordering on a panic attack. She hadn't felt this way in years, since her mother would come visit her at the academy, when she deigned to show up that was. And each time she did and the supreme felt like this she would do one thing, she would run.

Before she knew it she had packed a bag, although she didn't really remember ever starting. She tried to justify it to herself. She was out of control. She was making all the wrong choices. She wouldn't be of any use to anyone when she felt like this. Elliott would be fine. Everyone would be fine. The more she justified it the more she hated herself for it, which only made her want to leave more, an endless spiral of doubt and self-hatred. If she was already this far gone, bag packed and keys in her hand, then the damage was done. Feeling like she should leave was just as bad as leaving, so why not go?

_You aren't a child anymore. You have responsibilities._

But what responsibilities? To Elliott? Cordelia felt like she was already screwing that up completely. Elliott was in no better a state of mind than when Cordelia had first found her. Hell, she tried to kill another witch only hours before. Cordelia wasn't helping her, not one bit.

_Don't blame her, it's not her fault._

And it wasn't Elliott's fault, at least not in Cordelia's mind. It was hers. Cordelia should have noticed sooner, been more careful, more aware of her daughter's sudden changes in mood, but she wasn't. It took Elliott going completely off the rails for the woman to be concerned. She was failing, failing everyone.

_You're not just blind, you are willfully blind._

Suddenly, Cordelia was in her car, driving on the highway. Every insult Fiona ever had thrown her way repeated in her mind on a continuous loop. She couldn't help anyone, save anyone, she couldn't even help herself. She was completely out of control. She couldn't help Elliott, or her girls, even Misty. Misty had just told her she wanted to go back to hell, and as much as that hurt, Cordelia couldn't help but believe it was her fault. She failed her, she didn't even realize she was hurting.

_You need to figure this out and pull yourself together. You need to be better._

And just like that, Cordelia had made up her mind, not that it wasn't made up already. She needed space to figure this out, away from the stress at the academy. It was the only way.


	43. Chapter 43

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Cordelia leaving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, sorry for the delay, this chapter was getting really long so I split it into two parts. My last day of work is Sunday so I'm going to try and write a lot more in the time I have off before school starts, so more chapter's are coming! Yay! Anyways I probably won't follow a strict upload schedule and I'll just post them as soon as I finish them, so look out for more content! This chapter and the next (pt 2) are super sad so you've been warned, but I already outlined the next few chapters and they are literally so cute I want to cry. Enjoy!

Elliott awoke early the next morning and tried to find something to keep her busy in her room, which was difficult. She looked over the stack of non-magical books she had in her arsenal, ones she had read dozens of times, before letting out a sigh and grabbing one, knowing it wasn't really going to keep her attention for long. She mindlessly flipped through the pages for a few hours before giving up and scrolling through her phone, taking quiz after quiz on buzzfeed. Oh yea, this punishment was going to suck.

Around 10, Elliott saw the door to her room push open, Misty peeking her head around it. "Oh, ya are up." She said, "Do ya know where ya mama went?"

"She's not here?" Elliott asked, Misty shaking her head.

"No, and her car's gone. It's not a big deal I just wanted ta talk ta her about somethin'." Misty said, averting her gaze nervously.

"Well I'm sure she'll be back soon." Elliott said, "She has class in a little bit." Misty nodded slightly then closed the door, disappearing back down the stairs. Elliott's curiosity was peaked, it wasn't like the supreme to go somewhere and not tell anyone. In fact, she had made a rule about it after the attacks happened that if the girls were to leave the house they needed to tell someone where they were going and when to expect them back, just in case. But if even Misty didn't know where she was then chances were she left earlier than anyone would have been up, since Misty was always the earliest riser out of the bunch. Maybe she just didn't want to wake anyone.

Elliott tried to distract herself from the nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach. She was probably overreacting. Any second Cordelia would walk through the door and go to teach her class. Everything was fine. David came to talk to her for a brief moment before going out, mostly just to check on her, and after he left Elliott decided to go down and grab some lunch, expecting to walk past Cordelia's full class in the living room, but it was empty. She stopped for a moment, confused, before she made her way towards the kitchen and spotted the council and Misty all whispering back and forth, stopping once they spotted the girl.

"What?" She asked, picking up on the apprehensive glances, "Where is everyone?"

The girls looked back and forth deciding whether or not to even tell the girl, before Zoe finally let out a sigh. "Cordelia didn't come back for her class." She said carefully.

"She cancelled it?" Elliott asked doubtfully, Zoe shaking her head.

"We haven't heard from her. She's not answering her phone." Zoe said, the girls exchanging worried glances, which only made Elliott's heart race.

"So where is she?" Elliott asked, her voice shaking enough for Misty to pick up on, throwing her an empathetic look.

"We don't know. That's what we're trying to figure out." Queenie said as Elliott grabbed her phone out of her back pocket.

"I'll call her." She said, knowing the supreme always answered her calls, regardless of what was going on. She walked out of the room with her phone to her ear, listening to the repeated rings. "Come on, pick up." She whispered to herself, sighing when Cordelia's voicemail message started playing, waiting for the beep. "Hey, we just wanted to make sure you were ok. You missed class so everyone's a little worried. Call me back."

"Anything?" Madison asked as Elliott walked back into the room, the young girl shaking her head.

"It just went to voicemail." Elliott said.

"Hey, Cordelia put GPS on your phone, do you have hers?" Zoe asked, Elliott shrugging and handing the older witch her phone.

"You can look. I still don't know how to use this thing." She said, Zoe pulling up the app.

Zoe's eyebrows creased, "What the hell is she doing in Mississippi?"

"What?" Queenie asked.

"It says she's 3 hours away in Mississippi. I don't know." Zoe said, turning to Misty, "You said she was gone when you got up this morning?" Misty nodded, "She could have left last night then. Who knows, maybe she just needed a break."

"She was really stressed last night." Misty said, noticing how Elliott dropped her gaze.

"Or she finally cracked and decided to pull a Fiona and get the hell out of here." Madison snarked, catching a glare from Elliott, "Miss perfect couldn't stay perfect for long."

"She wouldn't just leave." Elliott said firmly, "Not without telling someone where she was going."

"Oh please," Madison said, "She had a breakdown and stabbed out her own eyes. She's not really known for handling tough shit well. I'm surprised it took this long for her to crack."

"Maddie…" Misty said firmly, noticing Elliott's increasingly distressed state.

"What? Her taking off is a better option than her being kidnapped." Madison said, rolling her eyes.

"She wouldn't just leave." Elliott said again.

"You're right." Zoe said, trying to calm everyone down as best she could, "Until we hear from her we have to consider everything. Maybe she had a vision or something and took off."

Misty could see how tense and worried Elliott obviously was, so she asked, "Why don't ya come out with me to the greenhouse for a bit? Get ya mind off it for a while."

Elliott just shook her head, "I can't. I'm grounded."

"I'm sure Dee won't mind considerin'." Misty tried again, but Elliott still shook her head.

"No, I'm ok. I'll just go read or something." Elliott said, breaking eye contact as she moved upstairs, sitting on her bed and trying to focus on the book in front of her. She couldn't focus on anything but her mother, a million terrifying scenarios running through her head. She called the supreme again and again, each time leaving a voicemail that sounded more and more vulnerable. She convinced herself that something horrible had to have happened, no way would Cordelia leave her, at least not without some form of an explanation. She told Elliott every time she left the house where she was going and when she was coming back, even if it was just her going to the grocery store. But then again, the previous day's events had caused obvious stress for the supreme, handling her daughter was never an easy task, but Elliott refused to even consider that option. She trusted her, she wouldn't leave. She promised she wouldn't leave.

Eventually Misty knocked on her door, peeking her head around. "Anything?" Elliott asked, Misty shaking her head in return.

"Nah, but dinner is ready. Come on down." She said, offering a small smile.

"I'm not really hungry right now." Elliott said.

"Really?" Misty asked, "Because ya didn't eat lunch. Ya gotta eat somethin' darlin'."

Elliott paused for a moment, forgetting she had missed the previous meal due to the chaos before shaking her head, "I'll eat later. I'm not really supposed to be around the other girls anyways."

"I don't think that applied to food, Elle." Misty said before deciding to drop the subject, temporarily, "How are ya doin?"

"I'm fine." Elliott said, throwing Misty a glare when the older woman looked at her doubtfully, "Really, I'm fine."

"Ya know the council will figure out what's goin' on." Misty said, trying to be reassuring.

"I know." Elliott said, fighting to not spit the words through her teeth. As much as she loved the girls, they had absolutely no idea how to handle this. Without Cordelia they were spinning their wheels, she was always the one who made the plans and figured everything out, not them. Without her they couldn't find the nearest gas station, let alone the lost supreme.

Elliott stayed in her room a few more hours until the sun had gone down and most of the girls had settled into their rooms for the night. She had tried calling Cordelia again a few times and each time it just rang until her voice message played, but the last time Elliott tried to call it went directly to voicemail. She quickly hung up, then moved to pull up the location app Zoe had checked earlier, only for it to say her location couldn't be found, which meant her phone had been turned off. She quickly rose from the bed and practically bolted downstairs, heading to the greenhouse where she was sure Misty would be, only to run into the council and Misty huddled in the kitchen, whispering once again. "Her phone is off. I can't see her location anymore and it just goes straight to voicemail." Elliott blurted, the women all snapping their heads up to look at her.

"We know." Zoe said, glancing at the women around her.

"You know and you're just sitting here?" Elliott asked loudly, stunned.

"We talked to her, she's fine." Madison said.

"Who talked to her?" Elliott asked.

"I did. She's ok, really." Zoe said quietly, Elliott staring at her, waiting for her to explain, "She called us, she just had some stuff she had to handle."

"What stuff?" Elliott asked, confused. She had a feeling there was something she wasn't being told, one that was confirmed as Zoe nervously glanced around.

"Just, council stuff. You know how it is." Zoe said, her excuse obviously half assed.

"Council stuff she wouldn't tell you she was doing before? Council stuff she had to turn her phone off for?" Elliott pressed, Zoe obviously cracking under the weight of the interrogation. "What aren't you telling me?"

"You know what you need to." Madison said, the rest of the women breaking their gaze.

"Obviously not. Just tell me." Elliott said, her voice gaining that slight edge it did when she got worked up. No one moved to say anything, which only agitated the girl further, "Tell me or I'll find out myself."

"Elliott…." Misty said carefully.

"No, you're hiding something. She's not here and it's for a reason. I deserve to know." Elliott said.

Misty glanced down at her hands as the girls looked from one to another, they knew they had to be the ones to tell her, she couldn't see it for herself. "She said she left because everything was too much and she needed a break." Zoe finally said, Elliott staring back at her for a few moments as her blood pressure peaked. The young girl knew she couldn't let it show that she was upset, that she knew Cordelia left because of her, so she offered a firm ok as she tried her best to keep her face neutral. She stood there and stared at them for a few moments longer, waiting to see if anyone said anything else, before heading back upstairs to her room, sitting cross legged on her bed.

_Of course you pushed her away. You ruin everything._

_She left you._

Cordelia leaving only confirmed what she already knew, she was too much for anyone to handle. She destroyed everything. It didn't matter how hard she tried, she would always fail. She tried so hard to be better for Cordelia, to be good for her, but it still wasn't enough. Nothing was enough. She didn't blame her, Elliott knew better than anyone else that she was a handful, it was only a matter of time. Elliott kept herself up all night, beating herself down until she had convinced herself Cordelia would never come back.

She didn't even try to pretend that she was sleeping when Misty woke up the next morning across from her, the bags under her eyes where dark enough that she couldn't hide her lack of sleep, her tired "Good morning" telling the swamp witch everything she needed to know. Misty tried to talk to her, but she didn't really attempt to hold a conversation, just telling the older woman she was fine when Misty tried to ask her how she was feeling. Misty tried to get her to come down for breakfast, she said no. By noon she had thoroughly convinced herself Cordelia wasn't coming back. Why would she? Elliott would still be as much trouble as she was before, that wasn't going to change.

By dinner Elliott had gone back and forth on just leaving herself. Cordelia had already made her mind up, what was stopping the young witch? But as hard as Elliott pushed herself to leave, she couldn't, and that made her more angry with herself than anything. She just couldn't let go. Truthfully it was probably better that this happened before the adoption, less paperwork that way. All Cordelia had to do was back out, she had done it once before.

Misty finally forced Elliott to come down for dinner, ignoring the girls bartering for a later meal time. She picked at her food and only spoke when directly spoken to. The girls asked how she was doing and she said she was fine, brushing off their doubtful looks. Misty watched her every move, picking up on the fact that Elliott hadn't actually eaten a single bite, just moved her food around her plate every so often. David tried to engage her, and she played along for a little bit, but that quickly died out once he picked up on her obvious desire to just not talk.

Finally, once all the girls had left the table, Elliott stood to take her plate to the sink, Misty catching her arm as she walked by. "Hey, ya wanna watch a movie or somethin'? Or did Dee say ya couldn't do that either?"

"No I can, but I'm probably just going to go to bed. I'm really tired." Elliott said, trying to worm her way out of the conversation.

"Are ya actually gonna go ta bed or are ya gonna sit up all night again?" Misty asked pointedly, Elliott throwing her a glare.

"I'm actually going to go to bed, Misty." Elliott said, her voice laced with attitude.

Misty put up her hands in surrender. "Ok, but if I come upstairs and ya are still awake I'm gonna be pretty pissed that ya made me watch this scary movie all by my damn self." She joked, Elliott giving a small laugh at the comment, "Get some sleep darlin'."

Elliott headed upstairs and laid down on the bed, tossing and turning for a few moments before she huffed and sat up, pulling up Cordelia's contact and dialing once again, praying the supreme would finally pick up, but it just went to voicemail once again. She thought about hanging up, but between her sleep deprivation and her quickly deteriorating mental state, she heard the beep and suddenly words came tumbling out of her mouth, her voice sad and scared. "I-, I'm sorry. I know I've been a lot to deal with and I'm sorry. I'm trying, I really am. I hope you know that." She said, her voice cracking. She quickly stopped herself, shaking her head violently as she hung up the phone. How could she be so stupid? Cordelia was gone, her apology wouldn't do anything but make herself look weak. She beat herself up for a few more moments over letting herself get to this point, letting herself get so attached, before she gave up. After all, the damage was done. She couldn't delete the voicemail, and she knew Cordelia would for sure listen to it at some point. She threw her phone down and buried herself under the covers, forcing herself into a fitful sleep.

Misty wandered up the stairs a few hours later, walking into the dark room and staring at a sleeping Elliott. She breathed a sigh of relief as she moved to change into pajamas, turning to face the young girl when she heard her whimper in her sleep. Misty was no stranger to her nightmares, but her whimpering wasn't something that usually happened, which almost made the older woman question if it was a nightmare at all. Still, she moved towards the other girl's bed and gently shook her, Elliott's eyes slowly fluttering open. "Hey darlin'." She said softly, brushing the girl's hair out of her face, "Are ya alright?"

Elliott sat up, obviously disoriented as she took in her surroundings. She creased her eyebrows as she looked from Misty to the door, wondering if it had all just been a dream. Misty caught on to the subtle move, "She's not here, remember?"

Elliott looked at her briefly before looking down at her hands and nodding, "I know." Misty just stared at her for a moment, once again reaching to brush a piece of hair behind her ear, "I'm fine."

"No ya ain't." Misty said, "It's ok ta be upset babe."

Elliott tried to fight back the tears that were quickly invading her vision, but she couldn't. She sniffled for a few moments before finally breaking down, a sob escaping her lips as Misty went to pull her into a hug. "What did I do?" Misty heard Elliott say quietly, her heart breaking at how scared the young witch sounded.

"Ya didn't do anything darlin'." She said, holding the girl tighter, "None of this was ya fault. It wasn't you, I promise."

"She's not coming back." Elliott cried into her shoulder, Misty shaking her head in return.

"She's comin' back." Misty said, pulling back to look Elliott in the eye, "She is. I'll go kill her myself if she doesn't come back. Ya hear me?"

Elliott nodded but Misty could tell she didn't believe it, which only made her feel worse. Elliott felt like this was all her fault, and Misty didn't really think it was. Misty had her own suspicions as to why the supreme left, but that moment wasn't exactly the time to bring it up. Elliott needed someone to be there for her, and if Misty didn't want to risk the girl pushing her away if the truth came out.

Misty didn't sleep much that night, her own guilt keeping her awake. She blamed it on her wanting to make sure Elliott slept ok, but truthfully she was just beating herself up. She let her secret slip, she pushed Cordelia away, she made her leave. If she hadn't been so stupid, Elliott wouldn't be hurt. This was her fault.

The next day Elliott seemed to be doing a little better, but that didn't stop Misty from bringing up calling Elliott's therapist. "I'm fine." The young witch argued, Misty shooting her a look.

"No ya aint, and I don't blame ya, but ya gotta talk ta someone about it. Ya don't wanna talk ta the girls or me or David, but ya have ta talk about it if ya don't wanna melt down babe." Misty argued, "Just, let me set somethin' up for tomorrow. If ya don't wanna talk ya don't have ta, but ya really need ta do somethin'."

Elliott let out a sigh, "Fine, I'll talk to her. But it's not going to change anything."

Misty had spent the majority of the day not letting Elliott out of her sight, much to the girl's dismay. The older witch knew Elliott's own mind was her worst enemy, and leaving her alone only seemed to do more harm than good. That meant Misty had to spend the majority of the day inside, given that Elliott still refused to go out to the greenhouse, not that the older woman minded too much. They spent the most of the day on the couch watching movies, although finding one proved to be a difficult task given that neither of them had seen many movies to begin with.

Around noon, Elliott decided to take a quick bathroom break, wandering back as someone knocked on the door. She threw a questioning look at Misty as the older woman shrugged, walking over and swinging the door open, coming face to face with her social worker as her stomach dropped. "Oh, hi. What are you doing here?" She asked, hoping the fear wasn't written across her face. This was it, Cordelia was sending her away.

"Just a routine surprise check-in." Her social worker said, offering the girl a reassuring smile, "Sorry, normally I do this much earlier on but I couldn't get around to it. Better late than never, right?"

The man walked through the door as Elliott stepped back, throwing a panicked look in Misty's direction as the council congregated by the door. Misty stood and walked over to the young girl, placing her hand on Elliott's back in a futile attempt to calm her down. She held out a hand to the man, "I'm Misty."

"We've met, although I would say this is under much better circumstances." He joked, Elliott letting out a forced chuckle as Misty felt the muscles in the girl's back tense up. "Now where is Cordelia?"

"She's not here." Elliott said quickly, trying to keep her face innocent as she spit out the best lie she could come up with. "She had to go on a work trip."

The man's eyebrows creased, "This close to the adoption?"

"It was an emergency." Elliott said, the girls all staring at her, listening carefully to her words in order to all get their stories straight, "She'll be back soon. Definitely before the adoption." She offered him an apologetic smile, and he laughed a little bit.

"Well that makes this check-in kind of pointless, doesn't it?" He joked, "But it's obvious she put you in good hands."

"Nah we're terrible." Misty joked, trying to make it seem like this was all normal. The man seemed to buy it though, letting out a chuckle of his own.

"Ok, well I guess I can check back in later." He said, moving towards the door.

"You want me to have her call you when she gets back?" Elliott asked, the man nodding.

"Yea, that's fine. Where is she at, if you don't mind me asking?" He asked.

"Mississippi." Elliott said quickly, knowing if he asked for records she could show him the hotel receipt.

"Ah, well I guess I'll see you again when she gets back, not that it will be much of a surprise then." The man said, waving as the girl closed the door.

"We're in some hot shit." Madison snarked, rolling her eyes, "Thank god Elle could actually pull off a lie for once, not that he bought it."

"He bought it." Misty said, throwing Madison a glare as she watched Elliott's eyes go wide. "It's gonna be fine."

"You better hope it is." Madison said before walking back into the kitchen, "God this place is a nightmare."

Misty tried to get Elliott to settle back down and watch the movie, but the girl was fidgety on the couch beside her for hours on end. "Elle, it's gonna be fine." She said.

"What if it isn't?" Elliott said, "I  _suck_  at lying. There's no way he bought it."

"He bought it otherwise he woulda asked more questions. You're worried about nothin' darlin'." Misty offered, Elliott shaking her head.

"What if he tries to call her?" She asked, borderline frantic.

"Then we'll just say she had shitty cell service, or that she had ta have her phone off when she was in meetin's or whatever." Misty said, trying to console the girl's fears. Truthfully she found herself to be a little angry at Cordelia. She left, and now they were all scrambling to cover for her, even Elliott lied for her. She tried to push away the anger, tried blaming herself for everything, but she kept coming back to Cordelia. Yes, she was upset, but she left behind her  _kid_. One that already had abandonment issues. Misty could understand the supreme shutting her out, or even the council, but not Elliott. She wouldn't even pick up the phone to tell her she was alright, she just disappeared.

Elliott refused to eat dinner that night, spending the rest of the night on the couch with her head in her hands. Misty tried her best to quell Elliott's anxiety, but it was no use. She could feel the frantic energy radiating off of her from across the house, and no matter what she said Elliott just wouldn't calm down. She eventually gave up and instead focused on distracting her, gathering the girls in the living room for a movie night, hoping their incessant chatter would at the very least let the girl know she wasn't alone, that she had people who cared about her. Madison was surprisingly pleasant the whole night, not one sarcastic comment slipping from her lips. Even she tried to make Elliott feel better, and Misty marveled over how much the Hollywood brat actually seemed to care about Elliott. Misty truly didn't think it was possible for her to care about anyone other than herself.

Misty focused on trying to get Elliott to at least eat something, even if it was total garbage. She sat next to the girl with a bowl of chex mix, offering it to her as Elliott shook her head. "Ya need ta eat somethin' darlin'. Ya know food is what keeps ya alive." Misty said, pushing the bowl towards the girl once more. Elliott quickly broke eye contact as her eyes got glassy, but she nodded and took a small handful, slowly picking at it as the movie finished.

Eventually the rest of the girls headed off to bed, offering their quiet goodnights as they passed. Misty sucked in a deep breath and prepared for the next battle, getting Elliott to actually sleep. Misty took one look at the girl and could tell she was exhausted, but she also knew Elliott well enough to know that she wasn't going to bed without at least a little bit of a fight. The two sat in silence for a moment before Misty let out a yawn and stretched her arms above her head, "What do ya say kiddo? Bed time?"

Elliott let out a small laugh at Misty stretched out like a cat, but quickly looked down at her hands, "You go ahead. I'll be up in a little bit."

Misty shot her a knowing look, "Ya can't fool me babe. I know you'll sit out here all night by ya self if I let ya."

"I'll go to bed. I don't want to keep you up." Elliott offered.

"Well then I'll stay up with ya until ya decide ta." Misty said, throwing the girl a cheeky smile, "Ain't no fun sittin' up by ya self."

Elliott shook her head, "No you're tired. Go on, I'll be up there in a minute."

"If ya will be up in a minute then I can hang around." Misty said, letting the girl know she wasn't getting out of it, which only made Elliott sigh.

"Fine, let's go then." She said, standing then waiting for the swamp witch to join her. The two headed upstairs and changed into pajamas, then Elliott sat down on her bed and started playing with her phone. Misty crawled over to her bed and sat up as well, looking over at the girl until she noticed and glanced up. "You can go to sleep you know." She said.

"I'm not sleepin' until ya do." Misty said, causing Elliott to roll her eyes.

"You're actually insane. You know that right?" Elliott said, letting out an exasperated sigh as Misty threw her a knowing look, "You don't need to stay up with me. I can handle myself."

"Darlin', we both know if I fall asleep you'll keep ya self up all night. Ya need ta sleep." Misty said pointedly, "So I'm up as long as ya are."

"Fine." Elliott said, shaking her head as she picked her phone back up, "Suit yourself." The two sat there for another half hour before Misty let out another yawn, "Just go to sleep. I will be fine."

"Nope. I'm up." Misty said, trying her best to sound cheery, which only made Elliott roll her eyes.

"So this is your new plan? Stay up with me until I feel guilty and get some sleep so you do?" Elliott said, glancing up at the older witch.

"Is it workin'?" Misty asked, throwing the girl a sly smile.

"No." Elliott said, "You're going to crash."

"No I won't. Ya think ya are the only one who knows where Madison hides those energy drinks?" Misty joked, Elliott rolling her eyes.

"You, Misty Day, are going to put all sorts of  _unnatural_  chemicals in your body just to stay up?" Elliott said sarcastically, Misty grinning back at her.

"Hey, we all make sacrifices for the ones we love." Misty said, making Elliott glance down and blush a bit.

"I'm just saying one night of not sleeping won't kill me. I'll be fine." Elliott said.

"So ya admit ya weren't going ta sleep." Misty replied, Elliott throwing her a slight glare.

"If I admit it will you actually go to sleep?" Elliott said sarcastically.

"Nah, I just wanna know I was right." Misty quipped.

"You are actually insane." Elliott said, laughing to herself slightly.

"Why won't ya sleep?" Misty asked.

"Because I know where my heads at right now and it won't have a good outcome." Elliott said, hoping that comment would make the swamp witch give up.

"And where would that be?" Misty asked, getting an idea of where this was going. Elliott just shook her head and mumbled something unintelligible, so Misty pressed again. "Elle…" She said sternly, the girl snapping her gaze up.

"Misty…" Elliott replied in that same tone.

"Talk ta me. I can't help ya if ya don't." Misty said softly.

"You can't help me anyways." Elliott replied.

"Doesn't mean I'm not gonna try." Misty said, staring the girl down.

Elliott let out a long sigh before shaking her head, "If I sleep I know I'm going to have a bad dream or a nightmare. I can feel it and I would rather not have that happen."

"Ya can tell when it's goin' ta happen?" Misty asked, intrigued.

"Sometimes. I know what I've had them about before so it's pretty easy to assume based on the day's events what is going to happen. It's not rocket science." Elliott said, crossing her legs in front of her as she leaned up against the wall.

"So it's the social worker?" Misty asked, Elliott nodding slightly as she dropped her head, "It's gonna be fine darlin'. We'll figure it out."

"You don't know that it's going to be fine. It wasn't before." Elliott said.

"So ya are worried that they'll take ya again?" Misty asked, Elliott just staring straight ahead as she nodded, but only slightly. "Ya have nightmares about that a lot?"

"Enough." Elliott said softly.

"Listen darlin'," Misty said, Elliott turning to look at her, "I know it's scary, and I know ya don't wanna feel that way. But, ya can't hurt ya self because ya are tryin to avoid it. That isn't good either. It's… it's a dream, and I know it feels very real, but ya will wake up here and be safe with us."

"For now." Elliott said, "Doesn't necessarily mean it will always be just a dream. It's happened before."

"That was a mistake." Misty said.

"And what is this?" Elliott asked, Misty shaking her head, she really didn't have an answer.

"I don't know what this is, I wish I did." Misty offered, Elliott nodding slightly.

"Me too." She said softly before standing and turning out the light, "Let's go to bed. I'm tired."

Misty nodded, but made sure to stay up until Elliott was definitely asleep, her slow breaths being a tell-tale sign. After waiting a bit to see if the young witch did in fact have a nightmare, she finally succumbed to sleep, but only for a short while.


	44. Chapter 44

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aye got part 2 done! Enjoy and let me know what you think! Fluffy chapters coming at you ASAP because we all need to recover from this.

While the swamp witch did sleep in much later than she usually did, she still was awake before Elliott, pulling herself out of bed and tip toeing out of the room, carefully closing the door behind her. She turned around only to see that the door to Cordelia's office was wide open, the light obviously on in the room. She slowly moved towards it, spotting Cordelia sitting at her desk, surrounded by stacks of paperwork. It seemed as if the past few days hadn't even happened, and Misty felt her agitation grow the longer she stared at the supreme. She left out of the blue for  _days_ , then just went back to work like nothing happened? Like she didn't wreak havoc while she was gone?

Misty stared for a few more moments until she decided she should probably say something, swallowing her irritation and offering a small, "Well hi there."

Cordelia quickly glanced up and offered a small smile before looking back at her work, "Hi. Sorry I can't really talk now, I'm behind on all this paperwork."

"I'll bet, that's what happens when ya up and disappear for three days." Misty said, the irritation crashing back over her.

Cordelia picked up on the change in tone, tensing a little as she set her pen down and sat back in her seat, staring at the swamp witch. "You're upset." She said calmly, which almost made Misty walk in and shake some sense into her. How could she not be upset?

Still, Misty did her best to fight all the anger bubbling inside her. After all, she wasn't completely innocent in this, she was the one who gave Cordelia a reason to leave. She simply shook her head and walked away from the door, quickly turning back and peeking around the doorframe, "Oh, Elle's social worker stopped by for a surprise check- in while ya were gone."

Cordelia glanced back up at Misty with wide eyes, "What?"

Misty nodded slightly. "Yea, apparently they are required ta do one before the adoption, just ta make sure it's a stable environment or somethin'." Misty said, Cordelia tensing at the obvious jab, "Elle covered for ya."

Cordelia still was obviously disoriented about the whole thing, her eyes staying wide as she nodded slightly at Misty's words, "Oh, ok. Good. Thank you."

Misty nodded and headed downstairs, still worked up.  _Good? Elliott lying for her was_ _good_ _?_  Misty was trying her very best to be empathetic, to be understanding of the whole situation, but she was finding it increasingly difficult, especially when it seemed like Cordelia didn't understand at all what she did wrong.

"Morning swampie." Madison sneered from the counter, "You see your little girlfriend finally returned from her grand disappearing act?" Zoe and Queenie nudged her as Misty threw her a fiery glare, letting her know now wasn't exactly the time, "I see we're all in a shit mood this morning. Good to know I'm not the only one who's pissed the fuck off."

"Yea well can it, would you?" Queenie sneered, "The last thing we need right now is for everyone to attack her."

"Well you and Zoe can kiss her ass, as usual, and me and Misty can rip her a new one. A little good cop, bad cop never hurt." Madison said, "I think we all know by now I don't exactly hold my tongue."

"We know." Zoe said, rolling her eyes. "We've all been telling her to take a break for weeks. We can't get mad at her for actually listening."

"But we can be mad for her shitty way of doing it." Madison sneered, glancing over at Misty.

"Ya leave me out of it. I ain't playin' no good cop bad cop shit. I'm gonna try ta keep my mouth shut, within reason." Misty said, shaking her head.

"Oh please, you're pissed as fuck. We can all see it." Madison said.

"Not denyin' that. I'm just sayin' for everyone's sake I'm gonna try and keep myself as far away from  _this_  as possible." Misty said, reaching in the cupboards above for a glass, then moving to the sink to get some water.

Cordelia wandered down to the kitchen, briefly smiling at the girls before watching them all break eye contact, glancing anywhere the supreme wasn't. She offered a polite "Good morning." But only got mumbles back in response, Madison blatantly rolling her eyes. "Where is Elliott?" Cordelia asked, glancing around.

"Still sleeping." Zoe said, offering the supreme a halfhearted smile.

"This late? It's after 11." Cordelia said, confused, although Elliott had been sleeping much more as of late.

"She had a long night." Misty said, washing her now empty glass in the sink and putting it in the dishwasher, never turning around to face the woman.

"What kind of long night?" Cordelia asked, concerned.

"Oh, now you care." Madison said under her breath, causing everyone to throw her a glare as Misty let out a sigh.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Cordelia asked.

"I thought I was pretty clear. You leave in the middle of the night with no explanation, leave us to clean up  _your_  mess and take care of  _your_ kid, and you expect us to not be pissed?" Madison sneered. Cordelia glanced over at the spot Misty was supposed to be, only to see that she had disappeared. Apparently the Cajun wasn't the only one who was upset. To some degree Cordelia expected it since she left so unexpectedly. What threw her for a loop was just how angry the swamp witch was, she could feel it radiating off of her, even when she wasn't even in the same room. She expected some animosity or even some awkwardness, but she wasn't prepared for the witch to barely even be able to be in the same room as her.

Queenie was quick to step in and try to diffuse the tension, "Don't mind her Miss Cordelia, Hollywood just hates any kind of actual responsibility."

Cordelia snickered at the comment as Madison threw Queenie a searing glare. "Yea, that's what it is." Madison snarked, Queenie silently telling her to knock it off. Madison let out a frustrated huff and walked out of the room right as a sleepy Elliott walked past her, muttering a sassy "Good luck" under her breath.

Elliott looked at her confused for a moment before continuing on, walking through the door frame and rubbing her eyes. She glanced up and stopped in her tracks after noticing Cordelia smiling at her, "Oh, hi."

"Hey there sleepy head." Cordelia said softly, noticing how quickly Zoe and Queenie slipped out of the room.

Elliott moved to grab herself a glass of water, trying to make the situation seem as normal as possible, "You feeling better?"

Cordelia nodded, "Yea, I am."

Elliott briefly looked back at her and offered a small smile, "Good."

"Misty told me your social worker stopped by." Cordelia said, trying to gauge Elliott's reaction.

Elliott turned to face her and leaned up against the counter behind her, "Oh, yea, he did. I told him you had an emergency work trip in Mississippi and you would call him when you got back."

"Well, thank you. I'll give him a call and clear things up." Cordelia responded, dismissing the situation with a wave of her hand. Elliott just nodded slightly as a few other girls walked into the room, ducking her head down as she quickly moved to exit, given that she wasn't supposed to be around them very much.

Cordelia sat there for a moment and talked with the girls very briefly, mostly just exchanging pleasantries. Her mind kept wandering as she tried to keep a conversation, although she didn't know why. Elliott seemed fine, normal even, at least for the most part, but Cordelia still felt like something was off. She seemed  _too_  normal. Cordelia knew the girl well enough to know that a visit from her social worker would certainly shake her up, especially since the supreme wasn't there for it. Yet Elliott seemed unbothered, which never happened.

Her mind briefly wandered to Misty. She was obviously upset, and given Misty's naturally gentle nature, she had resorted to avoiding conversation with the supreme instead of voicing her displeasure. But was Misty really this upset that Cordelia left? Or was it something else? Cordelia had spent the past three days trying her hardest to rationalize her own actions to herself, to make herself believe she was doing the best thing whenever she felt the guilt creeping up the back of her throat. She had rationalized it to the point she almost believed it whole heartedly, but since returning that guilt was creeping up once again.

She excused herself from the cluster of girls as gracefully as she could and wandered out to the greenhouse, certain she would find Misty there. Her hunch was confirmed when she spotted the witch hunched over a plant that had seen better days, knocking on the wooden doorframe to alert the Cajun of her presence. Misty glanced up at her, then stared back down at the plant. "It's dyin' again. I thought I fixed it a few days ago but I guess not." Misty mumbled.

"Well if anyone can fix it, it's you." Cordelia said with a snicker as Misty shook her head, not saying anything to further the conversation, "You're upset."

"Dee…" Misty said exasperatingly, dropping her head.

"I get it, I know I didn't leave under the best of terms…" Cordelia began, only to be interrupted.

"Is that really why ya think I'm upset?" Misty said, finally looking at the supreme.

"I don't know why you're upset. You won't talk to me." Cordelia said with a sigh, walking further into the greenhouse until she was next to her girlfriend.

"I'm talkin ta ya right now." Misty said, her expression clearly one of discomfort.

"Misty, I just needed time…." Cordelia said, trailing off.

"I know that. I get that. I get  _why_ ya left, it's  _how_ ya left." Misty said, her tone becoming increasingly frustrated. She tried to contain herself, but Cordelia was quick to catch on.

"You're angry?" Cordelia said, Misty letting out a frustrated sigh.

"Ya would be too if ya saw what I did." Misty said shortly, clenching her teeth in an attempt to keep herself from yelling. Cordelia just stared at her, perplexed, so Misty continued, her voice getting increasingly louder and angrier, "Ya wouldn't even talk ta her, Dee. Ya got up and left with no explanation, scared the hell out of  _everyone_ , and then ya couldn't even call her? I could understand not wantin' ta talk ta me, or even the council, but ya shut her out with zero explanation. She deserved an explanation, and not a half assed lie from Zoe, from  _you_."

"I- I told Zoe what to tell her." Cordelia stammered, getting defensive.

"Ya really think she was goin' ta believe that bullshit?" Misty said loudly, "She's a smart kid, Dee. She knew it was a lie, and she was going to find out one way or another."

"I know she is." Cordelia bit, "Does she know everything?"

"She knows ya needed a break from everythin', but she doesn't know what happened between us, if that's what ya are askin'." Misty said, shaking her head.

"So she's mad at me? I just talked to her, she was fine." Cordelia spit.

"I don't know what she is. But she definitely isn't  _fine_." Misty said, one wrong move from yelling. She didn't want to make the supreme feel any worse, so she just let out a sigh and decided to end the conversation. "Ya said she was up?" Misty asked, crossing her arms as Cordelia nodded, "I have ta go talk ta her, excuse me."

Cordelia felt that guilt in her throat rising up as Misty left the greenhouse. She knew she should have talked to Elliott, given her some sort of explanation, but she couldn't. How was she supposed to tell her daughter that she was doing the exact thing she tried to steer her child away from? That Cordelia was out of control and wasn't good enough for her daughter to be around? That she couldn't be the mother Elliott deserved? Cordelia had tried to gather the courage to call her numerous times, but each time she convinced herself that anything she said would just make things worse, would make her seem  _weak_ , and she didn't want Elliott to see her as weak. She tried her best to always hold a strong front for her daughter, even though she didn't always succeed. She convinced herself it was better if she didn't talk to her at all, that if she did Elliott would be worried, and that was the last thing she wanted.

Still, it all seemed to backfire on her. She should have known Misty's anger wasn't about her own emotions. She was fiercely protective of Elliott; she was the one person Misty  _would_  be angry for. Elliott had a habit of swallowing her own emotions as to not upset anyone, she didn't want to make Cordelia feel guilty for taking time for herself, but Elliott's normal disposition only made the supreme feel  _worse_. She should be angry, furious with her mother for leaving without so much as a word. Cordelia deserved that, she could handle that. What she didn't know if she could handle was Elliott pretending she was fine when she wasn't.

Slowly, Cordelia wandered back inside, contemplating just going to her office and hiding out for the day, but she hiding out is what got her into this mess. She spotted lunch on the table, then reformulated her plan, heading up to Elliott's room and lightly knocking on the door. "Yea?" She heard from inside, swinging the door open to see her daughter sitting cross legged on the bed, a book on her lap. Elliott didn't even look up, just offered the supreme a "What's up?"

"Lunch is ready if you want to come down." Cordelia said softly, watching as Elliott registered her voice and immediately pinched the bridge of her nose between her two fingers. _There it is._  Elliott could act as normal as she wanted to, she always gave herself away with her body language. Cordelia had quickly learned the physical habits of her daughter's many emotions: the pinching of her nose when she was stressed, the way she would fidget and wring her hands when she was anxious, her nervous lip bite. It didn't matter what show Elliott was trying to put on, those habits always peaked through, and Cordelia had learned to watch them carefully.

"Um, I'll probably get some later. I'm not really hungry yet." Elliott said, quickly removing her hand from her face and glancing up at the supreme.

"You're mad at me." Cordelia said simply, Elliott creasing her brows before shaking her head.

"I'm not mad." She said softly.

"Yes you are. I can see it." Cordelia said, moving to sit on the bed, noticing Elliott scooch back slightly, although she couldn't tell if it was because Elliott didn't want to be close to her or she was just trying to make room.

"No, I'm not. You're talking to the queen of leaving here. I practically invented leaving. I get it." Elliott said, still not looking up as she turned the pages of her book.

"You don't even know why I left." Cordelia said, Elliott shaking her head once again.

"You don't owe me an explanation. I get it." Elliott replied, her voice painfully neutral and flat.

"Elle, look at me." Cordelia said, Elliott finally looking away from her book to make eye contact with the supreme, her eyebrows raised.

Cordelia moved to say something but saw Elliott break eye contact and look behind her, turning around herself to see Misty in the doorway. "Sorry." Misty said, "Elle, ya therapist is here."

Elliott nodded and stood, closing her book and leaving the room to head to the library. Cordelia waited until she heard the door shut before she spoke, "Her therapy wasn't supposed to be until next week?"

"I know, I called her." Misty said simply, bracing for the onslaught of questions she knew she was about to receive.

"You called her? Why?" Cordelia asked.

"Because she needed it." Misty said.

"Why would she need it?" Cordelia asked, Misty letting out a sigh.

"Because she wasn't eatin' or sleepin', Dee." Misty said, "Among other things."

"What the hell happened? I was gone for three days." Cordelia said, stunned.

"What happened was ya abandoned a kid with abandonment issues." Misty said shortly, Cordelia throwing her a searing glare.

"I didn't  _abandon_  her, Misty. I was gone for three days and I was coming back. I've gone on work trips that were longer." Cordelia sassed back.

"This was different and ya know that." Misty said, clenching her teeth once again, which just caused Cordelia to stand and practically drag Misty to her office, shutting the door behind her.

"If you're going to say something then just say it." Cordelia bit.

Misty stood with her arms crossed, shaking her head, "What is there ta say? Ya left and it destroyed her."

"I was coming back." Cordelia said loudly, obviously infuriated.

"She didn't know that, none of us did. It's not like ya talked ta any of us, ya shut ya phone off." Misty bit back.

"I just needed time to think." Cordelia yelled.

"I know ya did, but that didn't stop her from thinkin' she was the problem. She had a bad day and she wakes up and ya aren't there anymore and ya won't even answer the damn phone!" Misty yelled back before she took a deep breath to calm herself, "She thinks ya left because of her."

"How do you know that?" Cordelia asked, her voice turning from angry to upset as Misty's face turned grim.

"Because she asked me what she did." Misty said quietly, dropping her head as to not cry. Cordelia didn't say anything, and Misty knew she also was on the verge of tears, still she explained, "She woke up from a bad dream only ta realize it wasn't just a bad dream, and she broke down and cried in my arms. It was awful."

"And you still didn't tell her…?" Cordelia asked, her voice laced with tears as Misty shook her head.

"Even if I did she would still think it was because of her, ya know that. Me tellin' her wouldn't do any good, and she needed someone." Misty said, "You weren't there. I had ta be."

Cordelia sniffled as she tried to wipe the tear tracks from her face, if she didn't feel horrible before, she certainly did now. She should have known better, Elliott wasn't a normal kid, she didn't think rationally when it came to things like this. She should have known the impact her actions would have on her daughter, how broken she would be. "And the social worker?" Cordelia asked, Misty finally looking up at her.

"Elliott was a pretty damn good liar. I'm pretty sure he bought it, regardless of what Maddie says." Misty said, sniffling herself a bit. "This could have ruined everythin', Dee. We're lucky she lied. She was terrified."

"I know." Cordelia said softly, "She shouldn't have lied for me, it was my screw up."

"What choice did she have? If she didn't he woulda snatched her outta here in a second. She was the one who had everythin' ta lose." Misty said, shaking her head.

The two talked a bit more and seemed to calm down a bit, Cordelia finally telling Misty to take Elliott out to the greenhouse while she called the social worker and got everything settled. Elliott immediately balked at the offer, but finally conceded once Misty told her that Cordelia was the one who suggested it, she really missed the greenhouse. They briefly came back inside for dinner, but Cordelia noticed that Elliott barely touched her food before retreating outside once again. The two didn't talk at all at dinner, and after Cordelia briefly went to her office to gather herself a bit before she finally decided to bite the bullet and go talk to her daughter, knowing it probably wouldn't be a pleasant conversation, but she was going to get the truth one way or another. She couldn't go to sleep until she knew where they were at.

When Cordelia entered the greenhouse she spotted her girls working on gathering some herbs, Misty looking up to meet her gaze. The three chatted for a bit about plants before Misty met her gaze again, a silent conversation taking place before Misty nodded slightly and made an excuse to leave the two alone. Elliott refocused on her plants, choosing not to continue the conversation, which told Cordelia everything she needed to know, not that she didn't know her daughter obviously wasn't alright already. "You're mad at me." She said, Elliott sitting silent for a moment before letting out a sigh.

"I told you I wasn't mad." She said slowly.

"Yes you are, you can stop pretending. I know." Cordelia said, obviously pressing.

"I'm not doing anything. I'm fine." Elliott said, shaking her head tiredly.

"No you aren't. You're upset with me and you are trying to act like you aren't." Cordelia said, crossing her arms.

"I'm fine." Elliott said, the slight irritation peaking its way into her voice.

"Elliott…" Cordelia sighed.

"Stop." Elliott replied, throwing the supreme a look.

"I'll stop when you start being honest with me." Cordelia said, noticing the girl tense up. She really didn't want to start a fight, but if it was going to get the job done then so be it.

"Well you do always like to think I'm lying." Elliott said, the edge growing in her voice until it was sharp.

"You  _are_  lying." Cordelia said sternly, trying to break the girls resolve, "You're mad at me."

"No I'm  _not_." Elliott bit, letting Cordelia know she was dangerously close. "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not mad."

"Yes you are, Elle. Just say it." Cordelia pressed, her own voice growing louder.

"Say what? What you want to hear?" Elliott spit.

"No, the truth. You're mad. We both know it's true." Cordelia said.

"Just stop." Elliott said forcefully.

"Stop hiding how you are feeling, Elliott. You aren't making it better." Cordelia said back with equal force.

"Oh my god. You're  _insane_!" Elliott yelled, finally snapping, "Here! Now I'm mad. Is this what you wanted?"

"The truth? Yea kind of." Cordelia said sarcastically.

Elliott paused for a moment and Cordelia could see her fuming, but she also saw a flicker of pain dance across her daughter's features. Elliott sucked in a deep breath as she stared at her mother, letting it out slowly to calm herself down. "I wasn't  _mad_." Elliott said forcefully, her voice cracking at the end, and Cordelia could see the pain clear as day now, which only made her tear up.

"Elle…" She said softly, reaching for her daughter only to be brushed off as Elliott shook her head.

"I'm tired. I'm going to bed. Goodnight." Elliott said quietly, not even giving the supreme a chance to stop her before she walked out of the greenhouse.

Cordelia gave herself a moment to breathe before heading back in the house, slowly wandering through the dimly lit rooms before heading to her room and finally turning back on her phone. When it finally loaded she saw over thirty missed calls and about a dozen voicemails, most of which came from Elliott. She felt a lump in her throat as she realized just how much everyone was trying to reach her, just how much  _Elliott_  was trying to reach her, and she for a second she considered just leaving the voicemails for another time, knowing if she heard them she would feel even worse. Still, she pressed play on the oldest one, deciding to just get it over with, and she listened to the voicemails one by one. She could hear the worry in Elliott's voice in the first one, the knot in her stomach tightening. If this was just the first one this was going to be a nightmare, Cordelia knew it was only going to get worse, and it did. As she clicked down the list she could literally visualize Elliott breaking down, her voice getting softer and more vulnerable with each one. By the time she got to the second to last one from her daughter she was in tears, and hearing Elliott's apology just made her sob. Cordelia  _wrecked_  her. She made her feel like it was all her fault when it wasn't.  _She_ did this. She hurt her child to the point the supreme wondered if there was even a way to repair it. As much as Cordelia tried to justify her actions she knew there was no justification in the world that would make what she did to Elliott ok. She stifled her sobs in her shirt sleeve as she clicked the last voicemail from Misty.

_Hey Dee. I don't know if you'll get this but I figured it's worth a shot. Elle…. She isn't doin' so good. I- I don't know how ta help her….what ta do. I can't fix this. She needs ya. Please… just come home. I love ya._

Cordelia laid down on the bed and balled into her bedsheets, grateful that they seemed to absorb all the noise. She didn't want anyone hearing her, anyone to pitty her. She deserved this. She left Elliott just like her mother left her, without an explanation, without any semblance of reason. She made her daughter feel like it was all her fault, just like Fiona did.

Once the woman had calmed down a bit she heard a door quietly close, the sounds of feet on the stairs, quietly stepping down. She knew who it was, it had to be her. She waited a moment until she heard a door click closed downstairs before rising from the bed, wiping her snot and tears on her sleeve and trying to appear at least somewhat put together, even though she knew very well that she looked like a mess.

Elliott stood in the bathroom downstairs facing the mirror, willing herself to not cry. She had tried to fall asleep upstairs, but she just tossed and turned until the weight of everything crashed down on her, her emotions swallowing her whole. When she felt herself willing away tears she crept out of bed and down the hall, not wanting to wake Misty with her emotional wreckage. Elliott hated crying. Crying was a sign of weakness, and Elliott hated feeling weak. Her weakness at the moment was that she cared, and she  _hated_ herself for caring. She tried to replace the sadness with anger, but all that lead to was angry tears, until she was grasping onto the sink with white knuckles and  _sobbing_ , finally feeling everything she had so desperately tried to numb out.

Cordelia wandered downstairs and crept closer to the door, hearing the cries from inside and feeling her heart break in two. She had never hated herself more than in this moment. Fiona's tongue lashings couldn't hold a candle to the sorrow she was feeling now, the self-hatred and the guilt. She stood by the door for a few more moments until she couldn't take it anymore, walking over to the couch and quietly crying into a pillow as she curled up in the corner, just waiting for her daughter to emerge so she could tell her how  _sorry_  she was, how she would do  _anything_  to take it back. All she wanted was her daughter to be in her arms and know how much she was  _loved_.

In the bathroom, Elliott slowly pulled herself back together, her sorrow and frustration quickly turning to anger at herself. She  _hated_ herself for getting so attached. She was better than this, stronger than this, but she let herself believe a fairytale. She  _knew_  she destroyed everything. She  _destroyed_ Cordelia, and Cordelia was perfectly ok to just let her keep doing it. She couldn't do it anymore; she couldn't hurt her anymore. She had to end it. Her mind quickly turned frantic, the room was too suffocating, this house was too suffocating,  _she_  was too suffocating. She had to get out.

Cordelia watched Elliott walk out of the bathroom and move around the kitchen quickly, still oblivious to her presence. Cordelia could feel her energy buzzing, that weird middle ground that always peaked up when Elliott was on edge, when she just needed to get out. It was the same energy as that night she found Elliott on the porch. After about the fifth time Elliott went in a complete circle around the kitchen, Cordelia spoke. "Elle." She said hoarsely, Elliott snapping her gaze up as she stopped in her tracks.

Elliott just stared at her a moment, fumbling to try and find the words. "We should just stop this." She finally said, her voice low and shakey, "I don't-… it's just not going to work out."

Cordelia was quiet for a moment as tears filled her eyes once more, she understood the point her daughter was trying to get across, the gravity of her words. "No." She finally said quietly, Elliott looking stunned and confused, "I'm not letting you do this. You can't just push me out because it's easier than telling me how you feel, Elliott."

Elliott broke her confused stare and glanced down. "I don't know how I feel." She said forcefully, the rawness in her throat making her voice crack.

"You do know." Cordelia said, standing from the couch and walking towards the kitchen until she was a few feet in front of Elliott, catching a glare from the girl.

"If you haven't noticed I'm a little emotionally stunted." Elliott said, obviously frustrated, "This is new shit for me."

Cordelia took a breath and watched as her daughter kept throwing darting glances towards the door, fidgeting as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She wanted to get out of there and Cordelia knew it. "Ok, are you angry?" She asked softly.

"I don't know." Elliott said, shaking her head.

"Are you sad?" Cordelia asked again, still trying to be gentle.

"I don't know." Elliott said, getting more worked up.

"Elle, you have to talk to me." Cordelia said sternly.

Elliott huffed as she shook her head again, "Why isn't I don't know ever a good enough answer around here? I haven't even had time to think, everyone has been hounding me for  _days_."

_She needs to think._

Cordelia stared at her daughter for a moment, noticing how she stopped fidgeting, but not missing her almost constant glances at the door. "Let's go get in my car." Cordelia finally said, Elliott looking at her confused.

"Where are we going?" She asked, her voice just sounding exasperated.

"You'll see." Cordelia said, but Elliott didn't move. "Do you trust me?" Cordelia asked, noticing Elliott's hesitation and lack of response. It stung, but Cordelia understood given everything that happened, so she just bit her lip and motioned for the girl to go.

The drive was eerily silent, so silent Cordelia could hear her head screaming. Elliott was tense the whole ride, just staring at her hands until Cordelia finally put the car in park. Elliott glanced up and spotted the cemetery across the road, turning to Cordelia, "What are we doing here?"

"You need this." Cordelia said, "So let's go."

They sat on that cliff for close to an hour in complete silence, Elliott alternating between staring at her hands in her lap and staring blankly into the abys in front of them. Cordelia didn't push, she knew the girl just needed time. Hell, it took her three days of being completely alone with her thoughts to process everything, and she had all the information, Elliott didn't. Still, she was dying for them to just talk, for her to be able to apologize and fix things as best she could. She had never seen Elliott look so defeated before, so sad and empty, and it killed her.

Elliott was right, this place did make you think, and that night it wasn't working in Cordelia's favor. The quarry was deathly silent, so silent it made Cordelia want to scream. At least the noise could distract her, make her think about anything else besides what a screw up she was. She could almost hear Fiona cackling at her failure, like she always did. Elliott had given up on her, that much was clear. She told her it wasn't going to work, that she was done, and Cordelia kept pushing her. But she couldn't let Elliott go, not when she was in this deep. She couldn't imagine her life without Elliott in it, she had become a part of her. Cordelia's own happiness hinged on her daughter's, and the supreme was certain if Elliott let her go that she would never be able to be happy again, it just wasn't possible, not when she knew everything she was missing out on. She would set herself on fire if it meant Elliott would crack a smile, even a small one.

Finally, Elliott showed her some mercy and broke the deafening silence, still staring at her hands. "Earlier…" She began quietly, "It wasn't me trying to distance myself from you. It was me trying to give you an out."

Cordelia glanced up at her, confused, "Why would I want an out?"

"Because you don't want this." Elliott said, looking up to meet the woman's stunned gaze, "Things with me aren't going to ever get easier, it's just going to get worse."

"I do want this, more than I've wanted anything." Cordelia said firmly, "I don't care if it's easy, I care if I have you."

"You've been miserable." Elliott said, shaking her head, "It's just going to get worse."

"I've never been happier in my life." Cordelia said, creasing her eyebrows as Elliott let out a sigh.

"You left." Elliott said after a moment of silence.

"I didn't leave because of you." Cordelia responded, shaking her head.

"You don't have to lie to me. I know it was because of me, it's ok." Elliott said, her eyes getting hazy in the moonlight as she fought back tears, which only made Cordelia's heart break.

"Baby, no. I left because of me, because I wasn't handling things the way I should have been and I didn't want to hurt anyone. I thought… I thought by leaving I would have time to think about it and fix it away from everyone. I thought it would help, but it didn't." Cordelia said, her voice getting thick and heavy before she cleared her throat. "I didn't leave because of you. I would never leave because of you." She said firmly, "This isn't your fault, not one bit."

Elliott glanced back down at her hands and wrung them, letting out a shakey breath as Cordelia continued, "I'm sorry I left. I wasn't thinking straight, and it's not an excuse, it's not."

"It's fine." Elliott said quietly.

"No it's not." Cordelia said firmly, making Elliott snap her gaze back to her mother, "I hurt you, that's not ok. I don't get to just leave and not give a reason and not talk to you. There's no excuse for that. You need me, I don't get to just disappear." Elliott tensed at the comment, breaking her gaze as she looked back down. "You're scared." Cordelia said softly, Elliott glancing back up at her.

"Why would I be scared?" Elliott asked.

"Because you need me and you don't want to." Cordelia said plainly.

"It shouldn't be this hard." Elliott said softly, fiddling with her hands once again.

"But it is." Cordelia said, "A lot has changed in six months, it takes time. We both have a lot of learning to do."

There was a beat of silence. "What if this doesn't work?" Elliott asked quietly.

"What do you mean?" Cordelia asked, furrowing her brow.

"I mean this could all crash and burn." Elliott said, bringing her gaze back up to lock eyes with Cordelia.

"It won't." Cordelia said firmly.

"You don't know that. You don't know what's coming." Elliott said, shaking her head.

"I don't, but I know how much I love you." Cordelia responded.

"What if that's not enough?" Elliott asked.

"It is." Cordelia said, glancing down and nodding once before looking back at her daughter, "You'll just have to trust me on that."

Elliott looked down and let out a sad laugh, "Yea, I think we've learned I'm not very good at that."

"Neither am I." Cordelia snorted, "We make quite a pair."

Elliott laughed and nodded, "I guess so."

The conversation lulled and Cordelia decided to bring up the concussion, knowing it was going to play a large part in the road ahead. "You haven't been yourself lately." Cordelia said hesitantly, Elliott glancing up at her questioningly, "You've been…off. I talked with your doctor… we think it's the concussion. That you're still having symptoms because of all the stress."

Elliott nodded, hesitating a bit, "Yea, I think so too."

"You do?" Cordelia asked, shocked.

"I can feel it, when it's happening. I just didn't want to say anything." Elliott explained.

"Why wouldn't you tell me?" Cordelia asked, concerned.

"Because I felt bad about it." Elliott said, "I know when it's happening but I can't stop it, and I should be able to stop it if I'm aware of it, I just can't figure out how. I didn't want to screw anything up."

"What could you possibly screw up?" Cordelia asked softly.

"Everything." Elliott said, laughing slightly.

"No, baby. You are fine, I promise." Cordelia said firmly.

"You left." Elliott responded, making Cordelia sigh.

"I already said it wasn't because of you." She said sternly.

"Well it certainly didn't help." Elliott shot back sarcastically.

"No, it wasn't you… it was something else. Not you." Cordelia said, shaking her head, "But I can't punish you for something you can't control, that's not fair."

"But you have to." Elliott said, making eye contact, "If you don't then the other girls are going to think you are playing favorites."

"They are going to think that regardless. Your punishment was too harsh anyways, much harsher than I would have done for any of the other girls." Cordelia said.

"You and I have two completely different definitions of harsh punishment." Elliott joked, causing Cordelia to roll her eyes, "That was nothing."

"Did you not tell me what happened with Elenor because you knew if you did that I wouldn't punish you for it?" Cordelia asked, Elliott letting out a sigh.

"Partially. It was also because I felt bad for Elenor." Elliott said honestly.

"Why?" Cordelia asked.

"Because I get it, her being angry with everything. It sucks to feel like everyone else knows something you don't." Elliott explained, "Especially when it's about your own damn life."

"Language missy." Cordelia said, getting a smirk from Elliott.

"Yea, yea." Elliott joked, rolling her eyes.

"Misty thinks Elenor is going to try and send herself back to hell." Cordelia said, Elliott looking back at her, confused.

"Huh?" Elliott asked, "Why?"

"I don't know. I don't get it. Misty says it's because they don't remember what their hell was, they feel like they are missing something." Cordelia explained.

Elliott thought for a moment, "Yea, I get that."

"You do?" Cordelia asked, Elliott nodding, "Well then can you explain it to me?"

"There was a lot of stuff from foster care that I didn't remember, a lot of stuff I still don't remember. I wanted to remember though, because I wanted it to make sense, so I looked at my file to help. It's the same concept, only difference is Elenor doesn't have a safe way to do it, her only option is to go back and get stuck. But it drives you crazy, not remembering, because your life doesn't feel like your own." Elliott explained, Cordelia nodding in return.

"Misty said she felt that way to, about going back to hell." Cordelia said quietly, Elliott looking stunned.

"She said that?" Elliott asked, Cordelia nodding again, "When? The night she got drunk?"

"Yea, why?" Cordelia asked.

"Because she never would have said that sober." Elliott said flatly, Cordelia staring down at her own hands, "Wait, that was the night you left."

Cordelia nodded, "Yea, that's why I left. She told me and I completely freaked out. She isn't happy here."

"Mama, no." Elliott said firmly, Cordelia locking eyes with her once again, "She's happy here, that's not it at all. It has nothing to do with her current situation, it has to do with feeling like she's missing something." Cordelia looked puzzled, so Elliott explained, "she knows she went through something traumatic but she can't remember, it's like she's numb to it. She's happy and she knows she shouldn't be and it's confusing." The puzzled look on Cordelia's face didn't lift, so Elliott tried again, "I didn't just realize I was deathly afraid of needles, I always have been but I never knew why and I always felt like the fear was unwarranted and stupid. I know better now, but it's the same concept. Her brain and her emotions aren't lining up and she's trying to find a solution, a very dangerous solution, but one none the less."

"I should have realized she was struggling." Cordelia said, looking down.

Elliott shook her head, "You can't blame yourself for not knowing what someone doesn't want you to know. She's good at hiding it, but now that we know we can try to help her."

"We?" Cordelia asked, Elliott nodding.

"I was in Misty's hell. I saw it, all of it. I can show her, give her a soluton that doesn't involve permanent death. I don't think Papa would give her back a second time, even if he does like me." Elliott said, snickering, "Elenor I can't really help with though, I never saw her hell."

Cordelia nodded, "Yea, Misty said we need to tell her something, even if it's a lie."

Elliott was quiet for a moment, "I don't think we should lie. I think we should just tell the truth. It's going to come out eventually."

Cordelia balked at that, "Not if I can help it. We can't tell the truth, it will just make you a target."

"I'm already a target." Elliott said seriously, "They all know something is up, it's better if we actually admit to it up front instead of trying to do damage control."

Cordelia thought for a moment, weighing the options, "Ok, I'll consider it, but no promises. I have to keep you safe, that's my number one priority."

"Believe me, they are more likely to think I'm the antichrist after that little stunt than the supreme." Elliott joked.

"You do realize if you do the seven wonders you'll have to go to your personal hell, right?" Cordelia asked.

"I'm not the supreme so that won't be an issue." Elliott said firmly.

"It's something to consider." Cordelia tried again.

"To be honest I really don't want to consider it." Elliott said, looking up at the moon.

"Do you think your hell will be your foster parents? The drug addicts?" Cordelia aske,d curious.

Elliott shook her head, "No, I think it would have been my hell at one point, but not now."

"You've been through something more traumatic since then?" Cordelia asked.

"A lot has changed since then." Elliott said honestly, "I don't know what it would be, but I know it's not that."

The two sat quietly for a few minutes before Cordelia chose to continue the conversation once again, "Misty told me you were having a rough time while I was gone. You weren't eating or sleeping."

Elliott slowly nodded, "It wasn't exactly a choice."

Cordelia nodded, "I know it wasn't, I know. But I'm still worried." She took a deep breath, unsure of how the next statement would go over, "I think you have an eating disorder."

Elliott was quiet for only a second. "I know I do." She said, locking eyes with the supreme as she gave a soft half-smile.

"You do?" Cordelia asked, shocked.

Elliott nodded, "I've done this for as long as I can remember. I didn't really realize it was an issue until I came here." She looked down for a moment, not wanting to look the supreme in the eye, "Before I could blame it on the foster homes or not having enough money, but I can't do that anymore. I guess it's another control thing, but the issue is I can't control it. It's not a conscious choice, at least not most of the time. It got better for a while but when you left..."

"You were out of control." Cordelia stated.

"I was scared." Elliott said firmly.

"Scared of what?" Cordelia asked.

"That you wouldn't come back." Elliott said softly, glancing back up briefly.

Cordelia shook her head, taking Elliott's hand in her own, which made the girl look back at her, "I'll always come back."


	45. Chapter 45

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The birthday chapter! it's real cute so get excited! oh and the adoption is coming up next! Let me know what you think!

“You do realize they all know you’re up and hiding, right?” David said, pushing open the door to Elliott’s room, spotting her buried under the covers. It was the morning of Halloween, and while Elliott had woken a few hours before, she stayed in bed in hopes that she could push off whatever it was that Cordelia was planning. Elliott had never been a fan of birthday’s, in her mind it was just one year closer to death, and she did her best to not acknowledge its existence. David, however, loved birthdays, and whenever he and Elliott were together he would force her to celebrate at least a little, so it made sense that he was the one to come pull her out of bed.

“Figures.” Elliott mumbled, rolling over onto her stomach and pulling the covers over her face. She had made peace with the fact that Cordelia was absolutely going to go overboard with this whole day, but that didn’t mean she still wasn’t trying to put it off for as long as possible. Elliott just didn’t understand the appeal; why should she get gifts just for being born? It’s not like she did a whole lot besides just _existing_ , if anything Cordelia should get the gifts since she was the one who actually _did_ something.

“Come on, up out of bed.” David pushed, laughing when Elliott fake coughed.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Elliott said, fake coughing again, “I think I’m sick.”

“You wanna tell Cordelia you are sick?” David said, smirking when Elliott flipped around to throw him a death glare, “That’s what I thought. Now, up. Your fake cough wasn’t even that good anyway.”

“My fake cough was excellent.” Elliott shot back.

“Fine, but I’ll only be nice to you because it’s your birthday.” David said, Elliott flopping back on the bed.

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” She moaned.

“You know if you keep being this annoying when people try to do nice things for you they’re going to stop.” David teased.

“Well that’s the goal.” Elliott said sarcastically, David grabbing her wrist and pulling her up.

“Up.” He said forcefully, pulling her into a sitting position.

“What if I was sleeping naked?” Elliott asked, “You can’t just barge in here.”

“You sleep naked with Misty in the room?” David asked doubtfully, eyebrows raised.

“Maybe.” Elliott shot back, rolling her eyes.

“Whatever, weirdo.” David joked, “Now before we go downstairs I need you to do one thing for me.”

“What? Throw myself off the roof? Sounds great.” Elliott said sarcastically, David rolling his eyes.

“No, dummy. I need you to help me find a lighter for this.” He said, pulling out a scented candle, which made Elliott smile softly, “There’s that smile. I was going to do it later but you apparently have a very busy day.”

“Please tell me you are lying.” Elliott said, David just wiggling his eyebrows and smirking, “God help me.” She stood and walked over to her backpack, rummaging through it for a moment before coming back with a lighter and handing it to the older boy, “Here.”

“You have a lighter in your backpack? Why? You literally can set things on fire with your mind.” David joked.

“Emergencies.” Elliott said with a shrug, sitting back on the bed.

David shook his head as he lit the candle, “Now I won’t sing happy birthday because I know you’re going to get it down there. I won’t be cruel enough to make you go through it twice. But you do have to make a wish for me.”

“Doesn’t doing it twice make the whole thing faulty?” Elliott asked sarcastically, David just shooting her a look.

“Well then I guess test your luck.” He shot back, Elliott rolling her eyes before shutting them and blowing out the candle, “Happy Birthday, Elle. You feel older?”

“No. In fact I think I’m aging backwards.” Elliott joked.

“Well then come on Benjamin Button, let’s go downstairs before they all starve to death.” David joked, grabbing Elliott and leading her out into the hallway.

“Just let me hide, ok?” Elliott whispered loudly before noticing Cordelia standing at the bottom of the stairs, smiling at her.

“Not a chance.” Cordelia joked, still smiling as David handed Elliott off to her. Cordelia led the girl by the shoulders and sat her down at the dining room table, laughing as Elliott pouted up at her and kissing the young girl’s forehead.

Elliott noticed Cordelia kept a hand on her shoulder as she stood upright, almost as if to keep the girl from bolting. She glanced over at where the rest of the witches were standing, Madison looking mostly unimpressed as Mallory, Zoe and Coco talked amongst themselves. “Can we get this show on the road?” Madison yelled into the kitchen, “We have shit to do today.”

“Hollywood, shut up!” Queenie yelled back from the kitchen, causing Cordelia to giggle, “Why is it no one has a lighter in this house?”

Elliott glanced back at David and he subtly moved towards the kitchen, coming back in a few moments later with Queenie and a smirk on his face. “Thank god someone in this house is normal.” Queenie said, knocking David’s shoulder with her own.

“It’s not mine.” David said, Elliott smirking back at him.

“Can we just not do this?” Elliott asked, throwing her best puppy dog face in Cordelia’s direction.

Cordelia laughed and shook her head, “Misty, do you need some help?”

“Nah I got it.” Misty said from the kitchen, “I just don’t wanna drop it.”

“Please do.” Elliott said sarcastically, Cordelia throwing her a look before the young witch got a mischievous look on her face.

“Don’t you dare.” Cordelia said seriously, Elliott rolling her eyes in return.

“Shit!” Misty yelled from the kitchen.

“Are you ok?” Cordelia asked, turning towards the kitchen but still keeping her hand on Elliott’s shoulder.

“Yea… I just…uh… set my shawl on fire. It’s fine.” Misty responded hesitantly.

“I’m coming in there.” Cordelia said, shaking her head and giggling slightly.

“Cordelia Goode, I am perfectly capable of bringing this damn thing out all by myself. I’m not a child.” Misty said firmly, which only made Elliott laugh.

“Is there a particular reason we are doing this at 11am?” Elliott asked, “Maybe we should just do this later.”

“We can, but then we’d have a much bigger audience.” Cordelia said knowingly, smirking when the girl threw a glare in her direction, “Just let me have this, ok?”

“Ok, I got it. Are ya ready?” Misty yelled.

“No!” Elliott yelled back, catching a playful glare from her mother.

“We’re ready.” Cordelia said, moving to the side of Elliott that was fusthest from the kitchen to make room.

“Alright. 1….2….3!” Misty yelled, walking into the room with a foot-tall stack of pancakes, candles flickering wildly on top with each step she took. The room started singing, or mumbling in Madison’s case, the words to “Happy Birthday” as Elliott ducked her head and gave an obviously uncomfortable smile. Cordelia just crouched down next to the girl and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, smiling stupidly wide at her as the girl gave a small smile back. It really was sweet that they all were trying to make her birthday special, and Elliott appreciated it, she really did, she just hated being the center of attention. Her favorite activity was finding new ways to disappear, and having everyone stare at her was wildly uncomfortable for her.

Misty, god bless her, was singing louder than anyone else, yelling the words, incredibly off key. Still, it made Elliott laugh when she finally set the stack of pancakes on the table and grinned at the girl as the song finished. “Well thank god that’s over.” Madison sneered, rolling her eyes as Elliott giggled.

“Not yet.” Cordelia said, looking back at Elliott with adoring eyes, “You still have to make a wish.”

“And do it quick, pancakes aren’t exactly the most stable base for candles. I would bet ya have about 5 seconds until the whole thing topples over and we have ta call the fire department.” Misty joked, Elliott giggling once again.

“This is a mess.” She said jokingly.

“We couldn’t do it any other way if we tried.” Cordelia joked. “Now go on.” She said softly, smiling at Elliott as the girl nodded and moved to blow out the candles, the room bursting into cheers once she did.

“Great! Now we can eat!” Misty said, pumping her fist into the air. Elliott moved to lift the giant plate of pancakes and hand it back to Misty but the swamp witch just shook her head, “Nah darlin’, that’s all for ya.”

“There’s no way I can eat all of this. It weighs more than me.” Elliott said doubtfully.

“But it’s gonna be funny ta see ya try.” Misty joked as the rest of the witches walked back into the room with their own stacks of pancakes, ones Elliott took note were much smaller than hers.

Once everyone had their food and sat down, Misty walked to the other side of the table and pushed a giant stack of presents into Elliott’s view. Elliott caught sight of the stack and threw Cordelia a look, which the supreme laughed off. “Now we get ta do presents!” Misty yelled, her excitement making Elliott laugh a bit.

“You guys are crazy.” Elliott said sarcastically, Cordelia pressing a kiss to her cheek.

“It’s your birthday, what did you expect?” She asked, Elliott looking back at her seriously.

“Not this.” She said, which just made Cordelia laugh.

“Just let go, baby girl.” Cordelia whispered, tucking a piece of hair behind Elliott’s ear.

Elliott opened the presents one by one, trying her very best to not worry about everyone buying her things. Misty gave Elliott a few plants the girl had mentioned she loved, and Zoe and Kyle got her a few books. Queenie, Mallory, and Coco all chipped in and got her a Bluetooth speaker, knowing how much the girl loved music. Cordelia gave her gifts last, the entire collection of Harry Potter movies, which made Elliott snicker, a Macbook Pro, which the supreme justified was for school, and a camera so fancy Elliott was scared to even hold it in her hands. “You really shouldn’t have. All of you.” Elliott said after she was done thanking everyone, throwing a look in Cordelia’s direction, to which Cordelia rolled her eyes in response.

“Oh you aren’t even done yet.” Cordelia joked, glancing over at Madison, Elliott looking confused.

“Get your broom bitch, we’re going shopping.” Madison said.

“Oh no.” Elliott said lowly, her face dropping into one of terror.

“What? I needed an excuse to not have to do shit for this party. Really, it’s more of a gift to me.” Madison said, “Now get some decent clothes on. We’re already late.”

“Why are we here?” Elliott asked, walking with Coco, Mallory and Madison into the mall.

“I told you. I needed an excuse and you were my get out of jail free card. Stop whining.” Madison sneered, flicking her cigarette bud onto the pavement just before the doors.

“Yea I get that.” Elliott said, “And as thrilled as I am to be your scapegoat, I don’t think you are here just to walk around. There’s kids here, you hate kids.”

“I deal with you, don’t I?” Madison sneered.

“Not when you don’t have to.” Elliott shot back, making Madison smirk.

“Just shut up and follow me ok?” Madison responded.

They ended up in a store that was far too fancy for Elliott to feel like she had any business being in, the girls shuffling through racks of clothes that cost more than any Elliott had ever owned in her life. “What do you think about this one?” Madison said, holding out a mini dress that was covered in chains.

“Maddie,” Coco said tiredly, “She’s not a stripper. She needs to look nice, not hot.”

“Why not both?” Madison quipped.

“Wait,” Elliott said, noticing the stacks of dresses in Coco and Mallory’s hands, “Those are for me? Why?”

The girls ignored the question, still looking through the racks as they added another dress to the pile. “Is this too short?” Mallory asked, holding up a slightly more conservative option, but not by much.

The other girls looked back and forth before shaking their heads. “Nah, she’s short.” Madison said.

They ushered the young witch to the nearest dressing room, leaving the mounds of hangers on the bench. “Do I really have to try ALL of these on?” Elliott whined.

“Yes, and you have to show us.” Coco said, far too excited about all this for Elliott’s comfort.

“Why?” She asked.

“Because you have shit taste in fashion and I’m not buying something that looks like a trash bag.” Madison said, rolling her eyes to show her annoyance.

“Or you could just not buy me anything and this could be done with.” Elliott said.

 “Just try them.” Mallory reasoned.

“I hate dresses.” Elliott argued.

“And I would rather rot in hell than see you in another pair of leggings, but here we are. Try them, show us, and let’s get this shit over with.” Madison said, Elliott huffing in return.

Elliott tried on the dresses one by one, showing the girls all their horrible choices. “Ew, no. You look like a baby hooker.” Madison sneered at one of the options, “and not even a good one. Next.”

Elliott walked back into the dressing room and looked over the remaining options, trying to find one that would satisfy all of them and end this hellfire of a shopping trip. She studied the dresses and weeded out the ones she wouldn’t be caught dead in, before settling on one. It was short, as all of the dresses were, but it had long sleeves that were looser and cinched at the wrist, the material ruffling at the ends. The dress was made of a navy chiffon that had a blue and pink floral print, and the top of the dress had an overlapping v neck effect, but not too deep of a v that it was obscene. It looked like a dress Cordelia would wear, so Elliott shrugged as she put it on, standing in front of the mirror and taking it in. It wasn’t horrible, in fact Elliott would say it almost looked good. She stepped out of the dressing room and the girls were silent, and Elliott was prepared for them to say they hated it, but they didn’t. “That one.” Coco said, glancing at the other girls as they nodded, “It looks incredible on you.”

“Who knew you could actually look good?” Madison said, Elliott rolling her eyes in return, “What size shoe do you wear?”

“Seven, why?” Elliott asked.

“Can you walk in heels or are you going to kill yourself?” Madison asked.

“I can walk in heels.” Elliott said, Madison quickly heading out of the dressing room, “Where is she going?”

“To find shoes.” Mallory said.

“Why do I need all this?” Elliott asked, confused.

“For your adoption day.” Coco said, “Madison wanted to get you a new outfit for it. She said she didn’t think you owned anything decent enough, but truth is I think she’s just going soft.”

“How is it that 99% of the time she’s a pain in the ass and a raging bitch, and then she does this shit?” Elliott joked, trying to play off the tears she could feel brimming in her eyes.

“She loves you. What can I say?” Mallory joked, “But really, that dress is stunning.”

Madison wandered back a while later, boxes of shoes in her hands, “Ok, I have shoes and jewelry. I picked out some hot ones and some that won’t make you feel like you want to die, but let’s be real we’re trying to make you look good, not keep you comfortable.”

Elliott tried on the shoes one by one until the group had settled on a pair of navy pumps with gold detailing, which matched the gold buttons on the dress, and picked out the jewelry to match. Finally, Elliott was allowed to change back into her own clothes as Madison went to pay for all of it, not wanting Elliott to see the cost and actually shit herself.

The group returned to the coven and Madison placed the items in Elliott’s room, Elliott wandering over to Cordelia’s study after. “How did it go?” Cordelia asked, a smile on her face.

“Please never make me do that again.” Elliott said seriously, the supreme breaking out in giggles.

“That bad, huh?” Cordelia joked, Elliott nodding in return.

“I’m pretty sure that mound of clothes I had to try on will haunt me in my nightmares.” Elliott said seriously, “I’m not kidding, the next time they ask me to go shopping I might kill myself just to get out of it.”

“I won’t make you do it again. Madison was very insistent.” Cordelia joked.

“Yea, she wanted to skip out on work, of course she was insistent.” Elliott joked back.

“Well I’ll give you a bit to play with Max before I bug you again. But don’t get too comfortable, we aren’t hanging around here long.” Cordelia said, smirking.

“There’s MORE?” Elliott exclaimed, Cordelia nodding in return.

“You thought we were done?” She said sarcastically, “We’re going all day, baby.”

“You do realize this is _killing_ me, right?” Elliott said sarcastically, Cordelia snickering to herself.

“You’ll like this part a whole lot more, I promise.” She said softly, smiling as the girl nodded and left the room.

A little bit later Misty came wandering by the study, Cordelia capturing her attention, “Hey, are you still planning to go with me and Elle?”

Misty stopped then looked at the supreme like she was crazy, “Uh yea, why wouldn’t I go?”

“Just making sure.” Cordelia said, “We’re going to leave in about 20, that ok?”

“Yea that’s fine I just gotta hop in the shower.” Misty said, giving a small smile before she left the supreme’s sight, disappearing into the bathroom.

Cordelia only asked if the swamp witch still wanted to go because they had finalized the plans a few weeks ago, before everything had happened. It wasn’t like Cordelia and Misty were on bad terms exactly, they just hadn’t ever really had closure on the incident, which left things in a weird middle ground. Cordelia still wasn’t sure if Misty even wanted to be around her, but she did still want to go, so maybe things weren’t as bad as Cordelia thought. That, or she didn’t want to screw up Elliott’s birthday.

An hour later, the three of them sat on a blanket at the quarry, having just finished their picnic. Elliott had her head on Cordelia’s lap, the supreme twirling a lock of the girl’s hair around her finger. “Is this a better way to spend your birthday than earlier?” Cordelia joked, Elliott nodding rapidly.

“Much, I thought I was going to die in that mall.” Elliott said seriously, making the two women giggle.

“You were not going to DIE, Elliott. Jesus.” Cordelia said, shaking her head, “It was a nice gesture.”

“Do ya really hate shoppin’ that much?” Misty asked, amused when Elliott nodded.

“Not only do I hate shopping in general, but they made me try on a hundred different outfits and made comments on each one. It was like I was on a reality tv show, horrible.” Elliott said, Cordelia laughing slightly.

“You didn’t have any fun at all?” Cordelia asked, Elliott sitting up.

“I’m not saying there weren’t some fun parts. Pissing Maddie off is always a pleasure, and I’m good at it too. I’m just saying overall the experience was _horrifying_.” Elliott said exasperatingly.

“Well now that you’re sitting up I can give you your gifts. I got you a couple other things.” Cordelia said, pulling two bags out of the picnic basket as Elliott threw her a look, “I didn’t buy them. Does that make you feel better?”

“Not at all. I don’t need anything else.” Elliott said seriously, Cordelia rolling her eyes.

“You need these so take them please.” Cordelia begged, Elliott biting her lip as she nodded and took the bags, smiling a bit at Cordelia’s downright gleeful expression. “Open the small one first.”

Elliott did as she was told, reaching for the smaller of the two bags and removing the tissue paper, pulling out a small box that obviously contained jewelry, and opening it to see a small silver ring, a large emerald in the middle of it surrounded by clusters of diamonds. “It’s beautiful.” Elliott said, looking at the supreme questioningly, wondering where it possibly could have come from if the woman didn’t buy it.

“It’s a family ring. It was my great-great grandmother’s engagement ring, and it traveled down the line over the years. Fiona kept it until she died, but I got it after that. I thought you should have it.” Cordelia explained, Elliott smiling softly at her, “I got it sized so it should fit your tiny hands. I had to try and measure your finger when you were sleeping, which was a nightmare, by the way. You’re a very light sleeper, you know that?”

“I do not have tiny hands.” Elliott said, pretending to be offended, “My hands are normal.”

“They’re pretty tiny.” Misty teased, Elliott throwing her a look.

“They can still hurt you though.” Elliott threatened teasingly, Cordelia taking it upon herself to grab the girls hand and distract from the conversation, slipping the ring on the girl’s right hand.

“It fits!” She said excitedly, Elliott glancing down at it.

“You did good.” She said with a laugh, “Thank you.”

The second gift wasn’t something Elliott was prepared for. She pulled out a picture frame and glanced at the photo, a toddler standing with a young man and woman kneeling on either side of her, balloons decorating the background. Something about the photo felt familiar, but Elliott couldn’t think of what. Obviously she must have looked confused, or maybe she was just staring at the photo for too long, because Cordelia moved to explain, “That was taken on your first birthday.”

Everything clicked in that moment, and Elliott felt a pang of guilt when she realized she didn’t really remember what her parents looked like. It wasn’t entirely her fault, they died when she was really young and it wasn’t like her social worker was super concerned with family photos. Still, it was sad to think that the only way Elliott remembered them was dead in their caskets at the funeral, their faces painted to the point they didn’t even resemble the people in the photo. It was like looking at a group of strangers.

Elliott stared at the photo for a moment as she felt the tears start to well in her eyes, glancing up at the supreme. “You held onto this?” She asked, Cordelia nodding slowly.

“Of course I did.” Cordelia said softly, running her hand up and down Elliott’s back soothingly. She knew the gift would probably elicit a more emotional reaction, which was why she didn’t want to give it to her earlier in front of everyone. “I have more stuff at home, but I thought you would want to have this one.”

“You trusted me with the original?” Elliott asked doubtfully, Cordelia rolling her eyes.

“Yes I trust you.” Cordelia said, Elliott throwing her a slight smirk, “I also made copies, just in case.”

“There it is.” Elliott joked, Cordelia nudging her.

“There’s nothing wrong with being prepared.” The supreme said seriously, Elliott just offering the woman a small smile before wrapping her arms around Cordelia’s neck and pulling her into a hug.

“Thank you.” She said softly, Cordelia pressing a kiss to her temple and squeezing her tighter.

“Of course.” Cordelia whispered, “Happy Birthday, baby.”

The three chatted for a few more moments before Cordelia remembered she had forgotten something in the car, standing to go by herself. “I can go with you,” Elliott offered, “You’ll get lost if you go by yourself.”

“You underestimate my supreme skills.” Cordelia joked, Elliott rolling her eyes, “I’ll be right back.”

“If you aren’t back in half an hour I’m calling the national guard.” Elliott teased, Cordelia waving her off as she disappeared into the trees, leaving Misty and Elliott on their own. “She’s insane. There’s no way she’ll be able to find her way back.”

“Eh, she’ll be fine.” Misty said offhandedly, Elliott staring back at her.

“She’s afraid of bugs, Misty. BUGS. God forbid she sees a snake or a fox or something and takes off running, she’ll die.” Elliott said seriously, Misty giggling back at her. “This isn’t funny. Your supposed to care about her.”

“I do care about her.” Misty said indignantly, “But I know she’ll be just fine. She’s tough.”

“Did I mention she’s scared of bugs?” Elliott said sarcastically, Misty staring back at her with narrow eyes, “But since we are alone, why didn’t you tell me you two got into a fight the night she left?”

“Would it a helped if I did?” Misty asked, already knowing the answer.

“No, but I at least could have fixed it before she even got back.” Elliott said seriously, Misty shaking her head.

“There’s nothin’ ta fix darlin’. It was me bein’ stupid.” Misty said softly, ducking her head.

“It’s not stupid, and it is something we can fix. But you have to tell us when something is wrong, you can’t go hiding this shit.” Elliott said seriously, Misty glancing back up at her.

“How can ya fix it?” She asked, Elliott taking a deep breath.

“I saw your hell. I was in it.” Elliott explained, “If you really want to know, I can show you.”

“Ya can do that?” Misty asked, Elliott nodding. “Nah,” Misty finally said, shaking her head, “I don’t wanna know. It doesn’t change anythin’. I should be happy here, it shouldn’t be buggin’ me as much as it is.”

“But it is bugging you.” Elliott said empathetically, “I get it, and it’s ok. It’s ok to want to know. What’s not ok is bottling it up and pushing it away until you snap and do something drastic, I’m a prime example of that.” Misty laughed, so Elliott decided to lighten the mood with a joke, “You get yourself trapped in hell again I’ll come down there and torture you myself. And I’ll be happy to do it. You don’t get to leave.”

“I won’t.” Misty said, glancing back at the tree line when she heard movement, Cordelia and David walking into view.

“Forgot this in the car.” Cordelia joked, Elliott throwing her a look.

“What did you do? Hide him in the trunk?” Elliott joked.

“Maybe.” Cordelia teased.

“Remind me to never let you take Max anywhere.” Elliott teased back, the supreme nudging her shoulder as she sat back down, “So much for your supreme skills.”

“My supreme skills involve asking someone who knows more than me for help when I don’t know where to go.” Cordelia joked, smiling at David who was smirking.

“I wasn’t in the trunk, I just had to finish up your birthday present before I showed up.” David said, handing Elliott a flashdrive that the girl was very familiar with. It was one David had since they were kids, and he always carried it around with him. Elliott had asked once what was so important on it, but David had never really given her an answer.

“Why are you giving me this? It’s your’s.” Elliott asked, confused.

“You’ll see. I’ll expect that back when you are done. I don’t trust you to not lose it.” David joked, Elliott throwing a light punch at his arm as he chuckled.

“You don’t stop and I’ll chuck it off this cliff.” Elliott said seriously.

“You might want to actually see what’s on it before you do that.” David joked.

“Or you could tell me what’s on it.” Elliott retorted.

“And ruin the surprise? Never.” David said sarcastically, Elliott rolling her eyes.

A few hours later, the four of them finally returned home, seeing the house completely decorated in Halloween themed items. “You like it?” Mallory asked, Cordelia smiling while Elliott just laughed.

“It looks like satan threw up in here.” She said sarcastically, Mallory smirking back at her.

“Well that was the goal.” She said, smiling cheekily.

Elliott headed to her room to get ready, although there wasn’t much getting ready to do. She wasn’t the type to wear makeup, and she definitely wasn’t going to be wearing a costume. She briefly showered before pulling her hair into two Dutch braids, changing into a simple all black outfit before sitting cross legged on her bed, opening her laptop and plugging in the flash drive. She fiddled with the laptop for a moment, trying to figure out exactly where to look, before opening a folder labeled “Elliott’s birthday”. In the folder were dozens of photos, spanning from the first home the two were placed in together to photos of the girl that morning, and Elliott pulled up the very first photos and started clicking through them. She didn’t know half of them were even taken, and it was sweet to think that these were what David was guarding all this time.

“Hey, kiddo.” Cordelia said, peeking her head around the door, “You look cute.”

“Thanks.” Elliott said, blushing a bit.

“What are you doing?” Cordelia asked, Elliott glancing up from the screen.

“Looking at the flash drive.” Elliott said, before motioning to the supreme, “Come here, you’ll like this.”

“What is it?” Cordelia asked, coming to sit next to the girl on the bed, Elliott sliding the laptop over so she could see.

“Pictures.” Elliott said, pulling up the first photo, which was of a young Elliott smiling into the camera, her face covered in flour, “I didn’t even know he had these.”

Cordelia smiled at the photo. “Look at that cute smile.” She said adoringly, glancing at the girl, “Is this what he was guarding with his life?”

“I guess so.” Elliott said with a shrug, slowly clicking through the photos. It was the first time she was seeing any of them, and it was strange to see that her life actually had some form of documentation outside of her file. She pulled up a photo of her and David, the latter pulling a funny face while she stared at the camera with a big toothless grin. “Look at how funny he looks.” She joked, Cordelia laughing, “That was when I fell on the concrete at recess and knocked out my two front teeth. I thought they were never going to come back in. I had a giant gap there for like a year.”

The two slowly went through the gallery, Elliott giving some context to the photos when she could remember when they were taken. It was a strange thing, she could remember the memories attached to the photos, but she couldn’t ever remember the photo’s being taken themselves. Cordelia just grinned as they went through them all, loving every second. It was nice to see that despite all of the tough things Elliott went through, David was still able to capture some of the light. Elliott looked like a kid, a real kid.

The photos gradually got more and more recent, Elliott’s childlike features morphing into the ones she currently had. Besides the few selfies David took of the two of them, there were a lot of candid ones, ones Elliott obviously didn’t know were being taken, since she was never looking in the direction of the camera. There were pictures of her playing board games in David’s apartment, a goofy grin on her face or a funny one whenever it was obvious she was frustrated. There were ones of a water balloon fight, where Elliott was absolutely drenched and not at all pleased, her face set in a scowl that just made Cordelia laugh.

As they moved toward the end of the gallery, pictures from that morning popped up on the screen, once again photo’s Elliott didn’t know were being taken. Elliott landed on one when she was blowing out her candles, Cordelia looking at her with adoring eyes and the biggest smile. “I’m going to need a copy of that one.” Cordelia said softly, pulling Elliott towards her and dropping a kiss on her head, “Actually all of them. I’m going to need a copy of all of them.”

“Even the one where I’m flipping off the camera?” Elliott asked sarcastically, Cordelia giggling back at her.

“Especially that one. That’s going to be our Christmas card.” The older woman teased, Elliott looking at her doubtfully.

“You would _never_ do that. You’re _far_ too proper for such an _indecent_ Christmas card.” Elliott teased.

“Are you calling me uptight?” Cordelia asked, feigning offense.

“I would _never_.” Elliott said sarcastically, Cordelia poking at the girl’s sides, “Knock it off, I’m kidding!”

“Just for that I’m going to make everyone sing to you tonight.” Cordelia teased, Elliott staring back at her seriously.

“You do that and I’m throwing myself off the roof.” She said, straight faced.

“Shut up.” Cordelia teased, standing from the bed.

“Here,” Elliott said, quickly copying all the pictures over to her computer before unplugging the drive and handing it to Cordelia, “You said you wanted copies. Just make sure you don’t lose it or David will have my head.”

“I wouldn’t dare.” Cordelia teased, grabbing the drive and walking out of the room, “I love you!”

“I love you too!” Elliott yelled back before sliding down the bed, “Finally, some peace and quiet.”

Later, Elliott found herself down at the Halloween party, talking to a VERY drunk Madison and Queenie. She had to admit, the girls pulled off a damn good party, although she could do without the dozens of boys she didn’t know constantly approaching her and asking for her to dance with them. It got to the point it was comical, for everyone else that wasn’t her, that was. Cordelia just kept grinning at her from across the room, giggling every time a boy would approach the young girl only to walk away with his tail between his legs.

One boy in particular just wouldn’t leave her alone. She had already turned him down multiple times that night, but he just wouldn’t stop. “Please? Just one and I’ll leave you alone. You’re too hot to be here by yourself all night.” He begged as Elliott walked out of the bathroom, effectively scaring the crap out of her.

“I don’t dance, but thank you.” She said flatly as she rejoined Madison, trying her best to still seem polite even though she wanted to tell him to fuck off.

Madison sized the boy up, nodding her head once to show her approval, much to Elliott’s dismay, “You should do it. Dude’s hot.”

“You’re really not helping.” Elliott said sarcastically, Madison shrugging before stumbling up the stairs, obviously going to drink more, not that she needed it. They boy just stared at her hopefully, and the two went back and forth for a few more moments until Cordelia finally took pity on her and wandered over, resting her hand on the small of Elliott’s back.

“You doing ok baby?” Cordelia asked, Elliott nodding slightly but glancing at her with eyes that said “Help me”.

“I was just asking her to dance.” The boy said casually, Cordelia giving him a once over with her eyes.

“Yea this is… Derek?” Elliott said unsurely, glancing over at the boy.

“Daniel.” The boy said, Cordelia trying to hold in a laugh at her daughter’s blatant screw up.

“How old are you Daniel?” Cordelia asked suspiciously.

“Twenty.” Daniel said confidently, Cordelia’s eyes going wide before she viciously shook her head.

“Yea, no. Not happening. She’s barely 16 buddy.” Cordelia said, the color from Daniel’s face draining before he scurried off, not saying another word. “Well that sure scared him off.”

“Yea, but it didn’t the three times I told him before that.” Elliott said, obviously over the whole thing, as Cordelia looked grossed out, “Thank you. I was dying.”

“You looked like it.” Cordelia said with a snicker, “Having a good time?”

“I hate parties.” Elliott stated, shaking her head.

“Well if you weren’t so cute the boys wouldn’t keep bothering you.” Cordelia teased, Elliott rolling her eyes in return.

“I swear to god if I hear “Age ain’t nothing but a number” one more time tonight I’m going to vomit.” Elliott said, “Guys are so gross.”

“That they are.” Cordelia replied, taking a sip of her wine.

“Elliott!” Mallory screamed, running up to the girl, the rest of the obviously drunk council and Coco trailing behind her, “We want cookies!”

“Do we have cookies?” Elliott asked, Mallory’s face dropping.

“No…” She said, glancing behind her, “We didn’t get any, but we want them.”

“We could go get them.” Queenie said, Elliott shooting her a look.

“You can’t go anywhere, unless you want to uber.” Elliott said, talking to the girls like a mother scolding her child, which made Cordelia snicker, “Hold on, I’ll go see what we have. I might be able to make some.”

“You can bake?” Cordelia asked, shocked when Elliott nodded back at her.

“I mean I’m not going to make a living off of it, but yea, kinda.” She responded, walking into the kitchen and mumbling to herself about baking in the middle of a party.

Cordelia trailed behind the girl and watched her move around the kitchen, opening various cupboards and grabbing out what she needed. She seemed to have all the ingredients, at least from what Cordelia could gather, although the supreme wasn’t much of a baker herself, she could barely cook dinner. “Does anyone have chocolate in their room?” Elliott asked, turning to the drunk girls all staring at her, “I can make sugar cookies from this, but they would probably be better with chocolate.”

“I have some in my room,” Mallory said, moving towards the stairs, “I’ll be right back.”

“Can you make them gluten free?” Coco asked, Elliott shooting her a look.

“Do you want cookies or not?” She asked, Coco just nodding her head in return.

“You don’t have a recipe.” Cordelia said, Misty wandering in to see what was going on.

“I don’t need one.” Elliott responded, grabbing a bowl and measuring cups and quickly going to work.

“What is she doin’?” Misty asked, confused.

“The girls wanted cookies.” Cordelia said, Misty throwing her a questioning look.

“She’s bakin’ in the middle of a party?” She asked, Cordelia nodding.

“And I’m not happy about it, but doofus over here wanted to drive.” Elliott said sarcastically, motioning to Queenie, who looked like she was about to puke.

“I never said it was a good idea.” Queenie argued, before quickly looking for the nearest bathroom and walking into it.

Mallory walked back into the room and threw a large bag of Reeses on the counter, “This work?”

Elliott glanced at the bag, “Yea that’s perfect. Anyone have a peanut allergy?” No one said yes so Elliott went to work chopping the candies and throwing them into the bowl before setting the oven to preheat.

“Damn, and you cook?” Daniel said as he passed by the kitchen, “I might have to shoot my shot again, this too good to pass up.”

“She’s still 16.” Cordelia said sternly, Daniel jumping once he realized she was there.

“Oh shit, I forgot. My bad.” He said quietly, Cordelia eyeing him knowingly as Elliott threw her a smirk.

“Mhm, bet you did. I think it’s time you head out for the night, huh?” Cordelia asked, making it crystal clear he didn’t really have a choice.

“Uh, yea, we’re rollin’ out.” Daniel said, quickly motioning to his friends and waving goodbye to the one girl he actually knew at the party, then hurrying out the door.

“Gross.” Madison said, “I thought he was like… 17.”

“And you still said he was hot.” Elliott quipped, Madison throwing her a glare.

The party died down shortly after midnight, the girls all changing into their pajamas and hanging out in the living room, chatting and dancing to the music in their socks. Cordelia smiled at the cute scene for a moment before she noticed her girlfriend was absent, wandering to the back door to see the lights on in the greenhouse. She glanced back into the living room and decided the girls would be ok on their own before heading out back, spotting Misty with a watering can. “And what would you be doing?” The supreme asked, throwing the wild blonde a grin.

“Oh,” Misty said, looking up sheepishly at the older woman, “Elle looked like she was havin’ a good time, so I thought I would water her plants for her so she didn’t have ta leave.”

“I’m surprised she didn’t come out here during the party to escape.” Cordelia joked, Misty grinning back at her.

“Nah, she was havin a blast. Between drunk Maddie and the million boys that wanted ta dance, she was havin’ the time of her life.” Misty joked back.

“I don’t know what’s more hilarious, the boys not being able to stay away from her or her not having any clue as to why they were so interested. She has absolutely no idea how gorgeous she is, although I might be a little biased.”

“Nah,” Misty said, “The funniest part was Hollywood coming over all pissy, bitchin’ about how Elle was getting more guys than her.”

“Did she really?” Cordelia asked, amused, then chuckling when Misty nodded her head, “That doesn’t surprise me one bit.”

The two chatted for a few more moments until the conversation died out, Cordelia mustering up the courage to have the conversation she had long been avoiding, “We’ve uh… we’ve been in a weird spot ever since I left.” She began, “I don’t… I don’t like it.”

Misty looked up at the witch, “What are ya talkin about, Dee? We’re fine.”

“No, we aren’t.” Cordelia said quietly, “You’re still mad at me, and you have every right to be.”

“Elliott isn’t mad at ya,” Misty said, breaking her eye contact, “So I shouldn’t be.”

“Misty,” Cordelia said softly, making the witch look back at her, “Thank you for being mad.”

“Huh?” Misty asked, confused as Cordelia giggled softly and bit her lip.

“Elliott would have died before she let me know she was upset; the girls were all too scared to say anything… I never would have known…” Cordelia said, obviously fumbling with her words in her nervousness, “The only person who actually held me accountable was you. You were protecting her, even if it was from me. Thank you.”

“Well yea, I love her more than anythin’. I hate seein’ her upset.” Misty said, shaking her head, “Is this what you feel all the time? This throw ya self in front of a bus kinda love? This panic?” Cordelia nodded back at her, giggling and smiling softly, “This hurts.”

“Yea,” Cordelia said, “It does.”

“I don’t know if I like this.” Misty said, furrowing her brow and staring at the ground.

Cordelia rounded the table separating them and tapped Misty on the nose, the younger witch looking up as Cordelia pressed a soft kiss to her lips, “I love you.”

“I love ya too.” Misty said, grinning, “You nervous about the adoption?”

Cordelia let out a breathy laugh, “I’m more concerned with Elliott freaking out and leaving than I am with the judge saying no.”

“Ya think she’s going ta leave?” Misty asked, concerned.

“I always think she is going to leave.” Cordelia said seriously, a sad smile gracing her features.

“Ya know she loves you, right?” Misty asked, Cordelia nodding.

“I know, but I also know she’s waiting for everything to fall apart.” Cordelia said, Misty nodding slightly. “Kind of like how I’m waiting for everything to fall apart with you.” The supreme said, biting her lip. She really didn’t plan on being this forward when she began the conversation, but something about the late hour made it difficult for the witch to suppress her feelings.

“What are ya talkin about?” Misty asked, sitting on the table and grabbing Cordelia’s hand.

The older woman stared down at their joined hands, willing herself to keep up the courage to actually have this conversation. “I keep waiting for this to fall apart, this whole …thing. And the longer we go and it doesn’t the more freaked out I get about it and that leads me to do some pretty stupid things… like leaving…. Because it’s scary.”

“Why is it scary?” Misty asked, Cordelia taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

“Because I don’t want to wake up one day and you be gone.” She said, Misty letting out a sad sigh.

“Dee, what I said was stupid. I wasn’t thinkin. I wouldn’t ever do that...send myself back ta hell. I couldn’t do that ta ya. I couldn’t leave ya.” Misty said, tears brimming in her eyes.

“But you are hurting and I can’t fix it.” Cordelia said firmly, Misty shaking her head.

“Ya are fixin’ it. Me bein’ with ya is fixin’ it. And Elle said she would show me if I really wanted ta see it, not that I do.” Misty said, Cordelia locking eyes with her.

“You don’t?” She asked, Misty shaking her head.

“Nah, I need ta stop focusin’ on the past and start focusin’ on the future. I don’t wanna screw this up because my head is stuck back there. I’m not there anymore, it doesn’t mean anythin’.” Misty said firmly.

“What do you mean the future?” Cordelia asked, curious.

“I mean us.” Misty said without missing a beat. There was no hesitation, no stuttering, and Cordelia quickly realized all the cards were being put on the table tonight, “I don’t want ta lose ya, not for anythin’.”

“You see a future with us?” Cordelia asked, Misty just staring back at her.

“Ya don’t?” Misty asked, not answering Cordelia’s question.

Cordelia ducked her head but nodded, “I do. I think that’s why I’m so freaked out. Everything seems too right. It can’t possibly be this easy.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t exactly consider it easy…” Misty joked, Cordelia laughing and nodding.

“I’m sorry,” Cordelia said, turning serious once again, “My head has been somewhere else.”

“Ya head has been exactly where it needs ta be. Elle needs ya.” Misty said, smiling softly.

“Yea, but what about when she doesn’t? What do I do then?” Cordelia asked.

“She’s always gonna need her mama.” Misty said, “That isn’t gonna change.”

“I don’t think I’m enough for her.” Cordelia lamented, “She deserves more.”

“Ya are more than enough for her. She adores ya.” Misty argued.

“Mist, I’m a single parent.” Cordelia said, “She deserves two parents.”

“Ya aint a single parent.” Misty said, Cordelia looking at her puzzled, “Ya got me.”

Cordelia looked shocked, “I don’t want to force you to be a parent to her.”

“Ya ain’t forcin’ me.” Misty said, not even hesitating, “I love Elle, more than anythin’. I want ta, if ya want me ta that is.” Cordelia didn’t say anything, just sat there stunned. “I’ll take that as a yes until ya tell me otherwise.” Misty joked, a small smile gracing Cordelia’s lips as Misty moved to kiss her.

“Misty.” Cordelia said between kisses.

“Hmm?” Misty asked, obviously preoccupied.

Cordelia pushed on Misty’s chest in order to break the kiss, pulling back only slightly, “What am I going to do if she leaves?”

Misty smiled softly at her, pulling back so she could look Cordelia in the eye, “You’ll bring her right back.”

“But what if she doesn’t want to come back?” Cordelia asked, the fear creeping into her voice, “She’s… I’ve already hurt her too much.”

“She’ll always wanna come back. Even if she doesn’t know it yet.” Misty said firmly before her voice softened, “She’s a good kid.”

Cordelia nodded, “Yea, she is. She’s a really good kid.”

Meanwhile, Elliott had finally had enough of the party, wandering up to her bedroom and sitting on the bed. She found herself staring at the photo of her parents, noticing it had gone crooked in the frame from being shuffled around so much in the car. Without thinking, she opened the back of the frame, pulling it back to reveal a note on the back of the photograph. She stared at it for a moment, tracing the handwriting before she even thought to read it.

_Cordelia,_

_Just wanted to send you an update on your baby girl. She’s incredible. You have no idea how much joy she has brought to our lives. You truly have given us the greatest gift we could ever ask for, and her mother and I couldn’t be more thankful. Elliott is so full of life and energy; she always keeps us on our toes. She definitely takes after you, she’s smart and curious, and she’s always stirring up trouble. We know you said you didn’t want to see her, but if you ever change your mind we want you to know we will always be open to it._

_All our love,_

_Michael, Jane, & Elliott_

As Elliott finished the letter she could feel the tears building behind her eyes, rapidly blinking to clear them as she fixed the photo and closed the frame. She had managed to mostly gather herself when she saw her door swing open halfway, Cordelia peeking around it. “You had enough?” She asked, a grin on her face.

Elliott let out a small laugh, “Yea.”

Cordelia stared at the girl for a moment, noticing her obviously glassy eyes, “Are you ok?”

Elliott nodded, “Yea, I’m ok. Just a strange day.”

“Strange in a good way?” Cordelia asked, stepping into the room.

“Strange in a lot of ways.” Elliott said with a small smile, Cordelia chuckling a bit as she moved to sit next to Elliott on the bed, noticing the picture as Elliott shifted it.

The older woman leaned back on the headboard as she looked over her daughter. “Talk to me.” Cordelia said softly, “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

“A lot.” Elliott said, smiling a little at her joke before staring down at her hands, trying to think of what to say. “I didn’t remember what my parents looked like.” She finally said quietly, Cordelia just sitting there listening. “When I got put into foster care, the social worker who got me and packed my stuff didn’t take any pictures, they just weren’t that important I guess, so I guess I just forgot.”

“Well you were really little…” Cordelia said softly, brushing a lock of hair behind Elliott’s ear, “You wouldn’t be able to remember. The fact that you can remember anything at all astounds me.”

Elliott sat quiet for another moment, thinking. “I think it was easier that way.” She said quietly, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for the picture and I’m glad I have it now. I meant like before, it was probably a good thing. Because I couldn’t remember them, my parents were just kind of this idea. I knew I had them but I didn’t really have any way to attach them to anything other than their funeral. The few memories I did have of them didn’t really seem real, _they_ didn’t really seem real, which made everything easier because then there really wasn’t anything to miss, it just was what it was.” Cordelia moved to run her hand up and down Elliott’s back as the girl continued, knowing it wasn’t an easy thing for her to talk about, “I guess I just never really dealt with it before, losing them. And now I’m here and everything is moving so fast that I have no choice but to deal with it.”

“Do you feel guilty?” Cordelia asked, thinking that was the case. She had expected the guilt to come up sooner or later, especially considering the circumstances. It wasn’t easy for a child to be adopted after losing their parents, let alone be adopted by their birth mother.

“No, I don’t.” Elliott said, looking up to see the surprise written on the supreme’s face, smiling a bit before reaching for the frame and opening it, showing Cordelia the note.

“Your dad wrote this.” Cordelia said, smiling a little as Elliott nodded.

“They would have wanted this. They wanted you in my life from the beginning.” Elliott stated, the supreme tracing over the note with her fingertips, “This is where I’m supposed to be.”


	46. Chapter 46

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mentions of Rape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, this chapter is 99% fluff with some heavier stuff at the end because I needed to deal with it sooner or later lol. This story is wrapping up soon and then we'll be onto the second book, so I needed to at least partially deal with the loose ends on this story. Enjoy!

"Come on loser. Get up." Madison sneered from the doorway to Elliott and Misty's shared room, Misty groaning in response, "Not you, swampie. Elliott. The bitch has to get ready."

"What are you talking about?" Elliott groaned from her bed, rolling over and checking the time, "Madison, it's six am."

"Believe me, no one is less thrilled about being up this fucking early than me, but we have shit to do. Up." Madison said, literally dragging Elliott out of bed and onto her feet.

"I don't have to leave until 9, let me go back to bed." Elliott argued. It was the morning of her adoption, and she really wasn't expecting to be up this early, given that she spent most of the night before panicking. She had gotten maybe four hours of sleep, and that was being generous.

"No, we need to get you ready so  _we_  can get ready." Madison argued, pulling Elliott into Mallory and Coco's room.

"I can get myself ready, Maddie. Despite me not wearing makeup often I still do know how to put it on." Elliott whined, pausing once she registered the older girl's words, "Wait, why do you have to get ready?"

"Because, you dumb bitch. We're your family, you really think all of us are just going to sit here? We're going with you." Madison said, acting like the question was the dumbest thing she ever heard, "And no, I don't trust you to get yourself ready. This is serious shit."

Coco walked over to the girl and handed her a cup of coffee before giving her a once over, "What do you think Mads, curly or straight?"

"Straighter than any of the bitches in this place." Madison sneered.

"I was talking about her hair." Coco said exasperatingly, Madison only briefly glancing up from her nails.

"So was I." She said.

"Are you going to fight me on this?" Coco asked, Elliott letting out a sigh.

"Do what you want, let's get this over with." She said, rolling her eyes as Coco practically jumped with glee.

Elliott let the girls straighten her hair and put on the majority of her makeup, the four of them giggling about Madison's dating horror stories as they worked. "Ooo this is so fun, getting ready with all the girls. You really are my favorite people." Coco gushed, Elliott throwing her a smirk.

"You have way too much energy for this early in the morning." She said sarcastically, Coco rolling her eyes.

"I'm excited for you, and it's not very often we all get to just hangout. You're always hiding in the library with your books, and you  _never_  go out with us." Coco said.

"That's because I'm sixteen and if I went out with you Cordelia would have your heads. I'm doing you a favor." Elliott snickered as Madison went to do her mascara, "I think I can do this myself. Kind of hard to fuck up, also I don't trust you with a stick near my fucking eye."

"Damn, have you always been this bitchy?" Madison sneered, Elliott throwing her a smirk.

"Nah, I picked it up from you." She shot back, Coco and Mallory ooo'ing from the bed as Elliott put on her mascara.

"Ugh, why do I suck at doing winged liner?" Mallory asked, working on her own makeup, "It's like a basic girl skill and every time I try I look like I did my makeup drunk."

"Here," Elliott said, standing from the girl's vanity and walking toward the bed, "Let me do it." Madison snickered as Mallory looked at her doubtfully, "I can do it. If you hate it then you can just take it off and have someone else do it."

Mallory nodded and Elliott picked up the eyeliner pen and went to work, making sure to tell the girl to hold still. She pulled back after a few moments and handed Mallory a mirror, the girl looking shocked at the results. "Let me see this train wreck." Madison sneered, Mallory glancing over at her, "Holy shit, it actually looks good. Maybe you are one of us after all, Elle."

Elliott rolled her eyes, "I told you, just because I don't wear makeup doesn't mean I can't do it."

"That wing is sharper than my ex's switchblade." Coco said, Elliott throwing her a worried glance, "What can I say? I like the bad boys."

The girls finally let Elliott go after she put on her entire outfit and let them smear a pound of gloss on her lips, looking her up and down for anything even slightly out of place. Once they had decided she was presentable, Elliott made her way down to the kitchen, grabbing a second cup of coffee and sitting at the table, hoping the quietness would calm her nerves. The silence was quickly interrupted by Misty, who wandered into the kitchen and quickly glanced at Elliott's back, "Hey, Dee." Elliott looked back at the swamp witch, expecting Cordelia to follow in behind her, but she didn't, Misty doing a double take, "Woah, well hey there little Cordelia."

"Huh?" Elliott asked, confused.

"Darlin, if ya didn't have blue eyes ya would be her twin, holy shit." Misty said, stunned.

"I look nothing like Cordelia." Elliott argued, not understanding.

"Well ya do now." Misty said, a perplexed smile still on her face, "Oh, that reminds me, I gotta talk ta her bout somethin'. I should go find her."

Right as Misty left the room, Elliott's phone dinged, the young girl flipping the phone screen up to see a message from Trevor. "Relax," He said, "It's going to be a good day."

Elliott smiled at the screen before standing and walking towards the porch, pulling up his contact and pressing the call button, "What are you doing up this early? Isn't it like 5am there?"

"Set an alarm because I knew it was a big day for you. Also I know you and you're losing your shit." Trevor responded cheekily, Elliott rolling her eyes.

"I am not losing my shit." She said stubbornly, Trevor letting out a laugh.

"Is that why I was getting texts from you at 2am?" He asked.

"It was 11pm your time." Elliott said with a sigh, "Honestly I'm more worried that I'm going to break my ankle in these heels. They're huge."

"Well make sure if you do, that you get it on video and send it to me. It'll be hilarious." Trevor joked.

"Ha ha. Not funny." Elliott said sarcastically, "I'm already nervous and you are not helping."

"This is totally helping. But you have to send me a picture. I can't imagine you dressed up." Trevor said, Elliott snickering.

"Yea I already got confused for Cordelia once today, which I don't get how because we look nothing alike. Then again she only saw me from behind but I figured the height would be a dead giveaway." Elliott rambled.

"I mean I could see it." Trevor said, "You guys do look alike, you just don't notice it as much because you dress so differently. I don't think I've ever seen her with even a hair out of place, you just don't give a fuck."

"Are you calling me a slob?" Elliott teased.

"No, you look cute. I'm saying I'm 99% sure Cordelia goes to bed in a power suit." Trevor joked.

"That's just because I stole all her t-shirts." Elliott joked back.

"But seriously Elle, relax. You have nothing to worry about, just enjoy it." Trevor said seriously.

The two talked for a few more minutes before Elliott let the boy go back to sleep, knowing it was far earlier for him than it was for her. She walked back inside to see the girls all gathered in the kitchen, and she briefly chatted with them for a few moments until Kyle and Zoe showed up with Queenie.

Cordelia wandered down a few minutes later, stopping just short of the kitchen when she got a look at her daughter, who had yet to notice her. It was rare that Cordelia had a chance to just study the young girl, and she took a moment to just take her in. She looked so grown up, but Cordelia couldn't pinpoint why. Maybe it was the dress, or the makeup, or possibly the hair, her normally wavy blonde hair straightened so it fell a few inches below her collar bone. The supreme hadn't even noticed how long it had gotten, it was usually tied up in a messy bun so it was out of the young girl's face. The dress fit her like a glove, the shoes matched perfectly. Even the jewelry was perfect, the necklace wasn't too long or short, the earrings dainty yet noticeable.

Cordelia picked up on her uneasiness pretty quickly, although her fidgeting wouldn't really be seen as abnormal to the untrained eye. It was small, a tug on her sleeves so they would cover her hands, tucking an unruly strand of hair behind her ear, the shifting of her weight from one leg to the other as she shuffled her feet, all things that would be considered normal for anyone who wasn't Elliott. Sure, Elliott was nervous a lot of the time, but when she wasn't she was very sturdy, very sure of herself and her actions. Everything she did had a purpose, she wasn't the type to mindlessly fidget. If she was fidgeting she was trying to distract herself, or those around her.

Cordelia smiled softly at the other girls as she finally entered the room, walking up behind Elliott and placing her hand on the small of the girl's back as to not startle her. Elliott turned her gaze to her mother and Cordelia noticed how the blue in her dress made her eyes piercing, less icy gray than they usually were and more electric. Elliott offered her a warm smile and the supreme leaned in to whisper in the girl's ear, "You look beautiful."

"Thank you." Elliott said softly, blushing a bit, "The girls woke me up at the butt crack of dawn."

"Misty told me. Bet you loved that, being the morning person you are." Cordelia teased.

"Dealing with Maddie at 6am was an absolute pleasure." Elliott joked back, Cordelia laughing a bit.

David was the last to walk in the room, glancing up at Elliott and Cordelia and offering a small smile and a good morning before quickly doing a double take, making everyone in the room break out in giggles. "I know right?" Misty joked, "I never realized how much they look alike. Elle's lucky I didn't try and kiss her this mornin'."

Cordelia glanced over at Elliott, beaming as the girl looked disgusted. "Gross." Elliott whined, which made everyone laugh.

"I know, who knew Elle could look this hot?" Madison said, relishing in her success as Elliott stared at her hands, obviously uncomfortable with everyone staring at her.

Cordelia just smiled and pulled Elliott closer to her, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. "Well are we ready to go?" She asked, everyone nodding as Elliott glanced up, turning to David.

"How is it that you took the longest to get ready?" She asked, David smirking back at her.

"I woke up late." He said.

"Well at least one of us got to sleep in." She said sarcastically, Madison rolling her eyes.

"You look good bitch, now shut up and let's go." Madison snarked before turning on her heel and walking out the front door.

The judge was running about an hour behind, so they all chose to hangout in the waiting area, the girls giggling in one corner with Kyle and David while Misty and Cordelia talked. Cordelia glanced up and noticed Elliott sitting off to the side by herself, messing around on her phone, and she quickly excused herself from the conversation with Misty to go check on her, sitting down in the empty chair beside her. "You ok?" She asked softly, Elliott glancing up and locking her phone.

"Yea, I couldn't stand anymore, these heels are killing me." Elliott joked, "How do you do this every day?"

"You get used to it after a while, although I don't see you wearing heels enough to ever get used to it." Cordelia teased, Elliott chuckling softly.

"Who knows, I need the height." She said, Cordelia studying her face for a moment, seeing the glint of worry in her eyes.

"You know that no matter what happens today, it doesn't change anything, right?" Cordelia asked, trying to be reassuring, but Elliott could see right through it. Cordelia wouldn't bring it up unless it was something she also had thought about.

"So it looks like I'm not the only one who was panicking." She teased, Cordelia laughing as she rolled her eyes playfully.

"If I said you didn't get your constant worrying from me I would be lying." Cordelia said with a smile, "But it's going to be fine."

"I hope so." Elliott said, glancing down at her hands.

Finally, the judge was ready to see them, Cordelia and Elliott standing in the front while the rest of the group shuffled into the rows behind them. "I see we have a whole crew here." The judge joked, Elliott looking bashful while Cordelia just glanced back and smiled.

"That we do." Cordelia said.

"Ok, well you have all the paperwork filled out, the home visit looks good. Now, I do have to ask you a few tough questions. Are you ready?" The judge asked, Elliott going wide eyed as Cordelia just laughed and nodded. "Ok, Miss Elliott. I'm going to start with you." The judge said, smiling, Elliott raising her gaze to meet his, "Is there any reason at all that I shouldn't sign off on this?"

Elliott threw him a soft smile, "No."

"You want this?" The judge asked, Cordelia involuntarily holding in a breath at the question.

There was a beat of silence before Elliott broke out into a wide smile, nodding, "Yes."

The crowd behind her erupted into cheers like their team just scored at the last second and won the game, Elliott jumping a bit before turning around and throwing them all an unimpressed glare, Cordelia just giggling beside her. "What is this, a soccer game?" Elliott whispered sarcastically under her breath, making Cordelia smile.

"Miss Goode, are you sure about this?" The judge asked, Cordelia beaming at Elliott and grasping her hand, squeezing softly.

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life." She said, Elliott smiling back at her as the group once again broke out in cheers, the two rolling their eyes.

"Ok," The judge said, shuffling the papers in front of him before picking up his pen, "Well then I don't see any reason to keep you here any longer." He quickly signed the paperwork, then glanced back up at the two women standing in front of him, "You are officially Elliott Daniels-Goode. Congratulations."

There was stunned silence for a moment, Elliott and Cordelia both shocked at how easy it was before the group cheered and snapped them out of it, turning to each other with the biggest smiles on their faces. Cordelia tugged on Elliott's hand and pulled her into a tight hug, holding the back of Elliott's head with one hand. "I love you." Cordelia whispered into Elliott's ear, pressing a string of kisses onto the side of her head.

"I love you too." Elliott said, the two hugging for a moment longer before they broke apart, both of them glassy eyed, which just made them laugh.

The group made the rounds hugging both of them, David pulling Elliott into a tight hug that was almost crushing her. "You actually did it." He said, obviously still in disbelief that Elliott had made it this far, "I'm proud of you."

"Don't get too excited." Elliott huffed out, struggling to breathe, "I made one good decision. I'll be back to the self-sabotaging mess that I am tomorrow."

David let out a laugh. "I love you." He said softly, dropping a kiss on her head before pulling back, smiling at the girl. David had said he loved her a thousand times, but for whatever reason that time it sounded different, more serious, which was strange to Elliott.

His unwavering gaze was quickly interrupted by Misty, who ran towards the girl and picked her up, throwing Elliott over her shoulder. "Hello! I am in a dress!" Elliott yelled, scrambling to hold down the back of her dress with her hands in order to not flash everyone, "Put me down!"

Elliott lifted her head just enough to see Cordelia grinning at her before Misty started spinning her around, refusing to stop until Elliott laughed, then finally setting the girl down and pulling her into a bear hug. "I got ya ta laugh." Misty said excitedly, Elliott letting out a sigh.

"I only laughed because you are insane and that is what you do to crazy people to get them to stop." Elliott said sarcastically, Misty moving to tickle the girl's sides as Elliott shrieked.

They had all planned a little barbeque after the adoption, wanting to celebrate and also being very aware that everyone would be starving by the end of it, so Misty and Cordelia headed to pick up the food after taking a few pictures while everyone else headed back to the house. The two women placed the food on the tables already set up outside before walking inside the house, immediately spotting Elliott standing on the counter, heels and all, arguing with the group in front of her and waving her arms around. Cordelia threw a questioning glance towards Mallory when the girl made eye contact, the younger witch just shaking her head. "Elliott," Cordelia said, the young girl whipping around briefly to look at her, "Why are you standing on my counter?"

"Because it was taller than the chair." Elliott said, acting like it was a stupid question.

"And you needed to be taller…why?" Cordelia asked, obviously still not getting it as Elliott let out a dramatic sigh.

"Because they weren't listening to me." Elliott said loudly, David chuckling behind her, "You stop right now."

"And you thought climbing on the counter would make them pay attention?" Cordelia asked.

"Well it worked for you, didn't it?" Elliott said sarcastically, Cordelia and Misty both nodding slightly in agreeance.

"It is." David said, obviously baiting the girl. It worked, and Elliott quickly whipped around to glare at him.

"I will fling this shoe at your head." Elliott said boldly, pretending to kick up her foot to emphasize her point before the two continued to bicker.

"What are they even fightin' bout?" Misty asked.

"Whether or not a hot dog is a sandwich." Madison said, obviously not impressed with whatever was going on.

"It is." David said to them, Elliott quickly flicking off her shoe and hitting David right between the legs, the boy keeling over in pain.

"That wasn't my head." He huffed out.

"I never said  _which_  head." Elliott sassed, Cordelia looking shocked.

"Woah," Cordelia said, trying to settle the quickly escalating situation, "Why is this so heated? It's a hot dog."

"Because this is  _important_. Topics like these show your true colors. It's like asking someone if they put milk or cereal in the bowl first." Elliott said adamantly, her face dead serious, which only made the whole thing even more comical.

"You put the milk first." Madison said, rolling her eyes, "Duh."

Everyone stared at the girl for a moment, horrified before Elliott broke the silence, "Wow. You really are a psychopath."

Everyone broke out in giggles as Madison shot her a look. "Elliott, down from the counter, please. The food's outside." Cordelia said, Elliott huffing before taking off her other heel and climbing down.

The girls and Kyle quickly ran outside at the mention of food, and Elliott casually strolled over to the fridge and pulled an ice pack out of the freezer, handing it to David. "Here." She said, shoving it at him.

"Thanks." He said with a grimace, "I forgot how good your aim is."

"You two do this a lot?" Cordelia asked, slightly amused.

"All the time. She's very stubborn." David said, Elliott throwing him a glare.

"And he never seems to learn his lesson." She said sarcastically, Cordelia grinning at the banter.

The four of them headed outside and sat down to eat, Elliott ditching the heels and just walking around barefoot. She was the first to finish with her food, and she quickly started playing with Max, tossing his tennis ball across the yard as Cordelia watched her, a grin permanently etched into the supreme's features. Elliott glanced over and saw the woman staring, pulling a funny face that made Cordelia laugh before tossing the ball, laughing herself when Max tripped on his mad dash to it. The rest of the group slowly finished their food and joined Elliott, leaving Cordelia and Misty sitting alone. "You're all smiley." Misty teased.

"Should I not be?" Cordelia asked, pretending to be serious for a moment, but quickly breaking into a smile when she glanced back at her daughter.

"Nah, I wish ya were like this all the time. Ya got the best smile." Misty flirted, Cordelia rolling her eyes playfully.

"I do not." Cordelia said, her cheeks blushing.

"Ya do, but if ya will excuse me, I got some business ta attend ta." Misty said, wiggling her eyebrows mischievously as she stood, Cordelia noticing Elliott walking towards them. Misty quickly moved over towards the wall of the house, reaching into a giant bucket, picking up a water gun and sliding it behind her back before walking out to stand in front of the girl, stopping her in her tracks.

"What?" Elliott asked, confused by the smirk on Misty's face, glancing back to see her mother standing behind the swamp witch, on the verge of giggles, "Seriously, what?"

"Nothin'…." Misty said innocently, "Just have a surprise for ya."

"Uh… ok?" Elliott said, barely getting the words out of her mouth before Misty whipped the gun out and sprayed her, the girl letting out a shriek, "Holy shit that's cold!"

"Language, missy." Cordelia chuckled, Elliott throwing her a look before turning back to Misty.

"I'm so going to get you." Elliott said, glancing over at the hose on the side of the house, running towards it and turning it on as Misty started to run. The Cajun wasn't quite fast enough, however, and Elliott managed to get her fairly wet by holding her finger over the spout right before she got out of range. The young girl looked to the side of her and saw a ton of filled water balloons in the bucket, grabbing one and launching it at the swamp witch, hitting her square in the chest.

"David was right, ya do got good aim." Misty laughed as she walked back towards the girl, Cordelia giggling loudly as she watched the scene unfold. Misty and Elliott glanced at her before looking at each other, Misty raising her eyebrows as Elliott smirked.

Cordelia immediately caught on and stopped laughing, her face turning serious. "Don't you dare." She said sternly, Elliott glancing at her before looking back at Misty again, nodding slightly. Elliott grabbed the hose once again and turned her sights on the supreme, thoroughly drenching her as Misty sprayed her with the water gun, the older woman shrieking at the frigid temperature. "I can't believe you!" She yelled, Elliott and Misty just grinning at each other.

The rest of the group quickly caught on and made a mad dash for the water balloons in order to get ammo before they were presumably drenched by the other women, running around as Misty squirted at them. The situation quickly became utter chaos, everyone participating in the water fight except for Madison, who stood in the corner looking unimpressed. "Don't even think about it." Madison sneered once Elliott got a little too close, water balloon in hand, "I'll slit your fucking throat, and I'll like it too."

Everyone stopped momentarily to see if Elliott would risk taking on their bitchiest member, and Elliott weighed her options for a moment before smirking. "Go for it." She said, whipping the water balloon at Madison and hitting her square in the stomach, making the girl scream.

"You fucking bitch!" Madison shrieked, the rest of the group cheering before going back to their game.

Elliott stood there for a moment laughing, Madison shooting daggers out of her eyes before she smirked, Elliott's face dropping right as Cordelia grabbed the girl around her waist, pinning her arms to the side. Elliott squirmed for a moment, "What are you doing?"

"Payback." Cordelia said sweetly, pressing a kiss to Elliott's cheek right as Elliott caught sight of Misty, carrying the huge bucket of water in her arms.

"No no no no. You're supposed to love me!" Elliott shrieked, thrashing around as she desperately tried to break free, Cordelia just giggling behind her.

"I do love you, but you deserve this." Cordelia said, Elliott glancing back at her briefly.

"You do realize if she dumps that on me you're getting soaked too, and that water is FREEZING." Elliott said seriously, Cordelia's eyes going wide at the realization.

"Shit." She said under her breath, Elliott laughing and grabbing onto the supreme's arms as she tried to get away.

"If I'm going down you're going with me." Elliott said, Misty laughing as she finally reached the two of them, dumping the bucket over both of their heads as the girls shrieked.

"Got ya!" Misty yelled, Cordelia looking at her very unimpressed.

"You set me up." She said, narrowing her eyes.

"Maybe." Misty teased, sticking out her tongue, not realizing Elliott had walked back to the hose and she was right in range. The cold water surprised her and she froze in place, which meant Elliott was able to spray her until she was absolutely dripping, her mascara running down her face. Cordelia walked up to Elliott once the hose was off and gave her a high five.

"I always knew you were my favorite daughter." Cordelia teased, Elliott rolling her eyes.

"I'm your only daughter." Elliott said sarcastically, "Unless there's  _more_ information you aren't telling me."

Cordelia's jaw dropped, which just made Elliott smirk as Misty laughed. "Do we have any more water balloons?" Cordelia asked as she narrowed her eyes.

"Nah," Misty said, "Fresh out."

By then the rest of the girls had returned from their outing, coming outside to get food and stopping once they saw everyone soaked, giggling when Cordelia turned to face them, absolutely drenched with her makeup ruined. "What?" She asked, the girls just laughing and shaking their heads.

"it's like a giant mud pit out here." Emma said, the other girls nodding in agreeance, "I think we'll just hang out inside."

"Suit yourself!" Misty yelled, walking behind Elliott to tickle her sides, making the girl shriek.

"Stop it!" She yelled, Cordelia grinning back at her, "What are you smiling about?" Cordelia just shook her head, laughing to herself. "Well I'm wet and freezing." Elliott said exasperatingly, "I'm going to go change, unless there's more torture you wish to bestow upon me."

"Nah, we're done." Misty said cheekily, walking over to Cordelia and pressing a wet, cold kiss to her cheek as Elliott walked inside, "It's been a good day, hasn't it?"

"For you." Cordelia said sarcastically, Misty just grinning as she pressed a kiss to Cordelia's lips, causing the woman's unimpressed face to break into a small smile.

Elliott wandered inside to see Madison pouting in the kitchen, smirking at her as she walked past. "I hope you burn in hell." Madison sneered, Elliott flashing her a grin.

"I'll see you there." She said before walking up the stairs to change.

She changed into a pair of shorts and a crewneck sweatshirt she had found crumpled up in the back of Cordelia's closet, the oversized fit completely swamping her small frame. She wiped off her remaining makeup and quickly pulled a brush through her wet hair, deciding to leave it down to dry as she headed back outside, passing the rest of the drenched group who were also heading to change.

She wandered back outside to see Max rolling through the mud, his white fur a noticeably dark brown as he splashed around. "You dumbass." She laughed to herself, Max picking up his head at the sound of her voice and running towards her. "Oh, no. You stay as far away from me as possible. Now I have to clean you." He sat and begged a few feet away from her, and she laughed as he wagged his tail furiously, begging the girl to pay attention to him. "Well…" She said, thinking out loud, "We might as well have some fun with this, shouldn't we buddy?" Max just sat still, Elliott walking back over to the hose and turning it on, the mud squishing between her toes as she sprayed the dog. Max loved it, he thought it was a game, and he ran around trying to attack the water stream, jumping in the air and biting at it, which just made Elliott laugh.

"At least someone likes it." Cordelia laughed, walking back outside, dressed in leggings that Elliott knew weren't the supreme's own and a long sleeve shirt.

Elliott threw the woman a knowing smirk, "Nice pants."

"What? You think you are the only one who's allowed to steal clothes?" Cordelia asked incredulously, Elliott shaking her head.

Once the rest of the gang had returned Elliott shut off the hose and they all went to work on gathering wood for a bonfire, piling it up in the corner of the yard right as the sun began to set. Madison had unsurprisingly waited until they were done to walk out of the house. The girls first tried using magic to light it, but it just wouldn't catch, even Cordelia couldn't get it to stay burning for long. Elliott headed inside and grabbed her lighter, walking back out and handing it to the girls who were still working to get the fire going. "Why do you have a lighter?" Cordelia asked suspiciously.

"Why wouldn't I?" Elliott asked, "Some people in this house actually don't use magic unless they have to." The girls still struggled to get the logs lit, so finally with a sigh Elliott stood up, "Hang on. I can get it going. Jesus."

The young girl came back a few moments later with a container of gasoline, Cordelia's eyes going wide at the sight, "No, no way. Who taught you that?"

"What?" Elliott asked, feigning innocence as she smirked, "It burns away all the evidence."

The rest of the girls chuckled as Cordelia gave Elliott a hard stare, but that quickly dissolved into an unimpressed smirk, "I'm going to kill you."

"No deaths tonight." Queenie said, finally getting the fire going, "We got it started, no explosive chemicals needed." Elliott let out a playful sigh as she rolled her eyes and went to sit next to the supreme, Cordelia pulling the girl even closer to her and chuckling as she dropped a kiss on Elliott's head.

"Oh please, Cordi. You don't even know half the shit she's done." Madison said, "Remember when we locked ourselves out of the apartment and you picked the lock with a bobby pin?"

"What?" Cordelia asked, slightly concerned but also intrigued as Elliott shrugged her off.

"Or that time you taught me how to climb out my window?" Mallory chimed in, Elliott shooting her a glare.

"Um?" Cordelia asked, glancing down at Elliott.

"I have a lot of hidden talents." Elliott said, trying to avoid the supreme's stare.

"Remember when you hacked into that tinder guy's facebook for me?" Coco asked, not getting the hint that Elliott obviously didn't want these stories being shared.

"You what?" Cordelia asked sternly, Elliott sitting up and putting her hands up in defense.

"His password was literally 'password'. It wasn't exactly cracking nuclear codes." Elliott said, her face blushing as the rest of the girls chuckled.

"Or that time you drove me and Hollywood's drunk asses to the liquor store?" Queenie added, Elliott and Madison both throwing her a death glare as she realized her mistake and got quiet.

"You drove a CAR? Without a license?" Cordelia asked, mostly stunned but also a little angry at her daughter's recklessness.

"Ok, I can drive a car, and it was only like two blocks up the road, they were just too lazy to walk." Elliott said, obviously trying to downplay the situation. Cordelia let out a huff, choosing to not continue the conversation at that moment but making it clear they were going to be discussing it later.

"Oh, I got another one!" Mallory said, Elliott quickly cutting her off before all of her secrets got exposed.

"Ok, that's enough for now. Let's not actually get me killed tonight." She said, Mallory getting the message and quickly changing the conversation.

"Coco, did you get what we talked about?" She asked, Coco smirking back at her.

"Of course I did." Coco said excitedly, shimmying her shoulders as she reached behind her and pulled up a bag, reaching in and pulling out a handful of long boxes.

"What are those?" Elliott asked, confused.

"Sparklers, beotch." Coco said, wiggling her eyebrows.

"What?" Elliott asked, obviously not knowing what they were.

"Where did you find those in November?" David asked with a laugh.

"I have connections." Coco said with a shrug, "I also have fireworks if anyone is interested."

"Do those have gluten?" Elliott teased, Coco narrowing her eyes.

"They might." She responded, Elliott giggling back at her, "Now come on, up."

Misty and Cordelia sat back and watched as the younger people played with the sparklers, laughing when Elliott jumped once hers was lit. She seemed to recover pretty quickly, looking at Cordelia and laughing as the girls tugged on her shirt, running around with them and making shapes. Cordelia just watched the girl as she discovered the sparking sticks for the first time, seeing the excitement in her eyes. She still was scared of them, Cordelia could tell because she had pulled her sleeve around her hands, giving her a barrier between the sparkler and her skin.

She stared at the sweatshirt for a moment, noticing how it didn't really fit the girl, and she briefly wondered where she had gotten it before her eyes landed on the college preparatory crest on the front, quickly realizing the sweater was Hanks from his private school days. The realization hit her like a ton of bricks, she thought Hank had taken all of his stuff, but it must have been hiding somewhere if Elliott had somehow stumbled upon it. The young girl probably didn't know any better and thought it was Cordelia's, but Cordelia found in the moment that it didn't really bother her at all, not when Elliott looked so happy and adorable in it, waving her sparkler around in the shape of a heart. Misty just kept flicking her gaze back between Elliott and Cordelia, taking in the interaction with adoring eyes. Elliott met the supreme's gaze briefly, offering her a goofy smile as the woman chuckled. "This is perfect." Cordelia said dreamily, glancing over at Misty.

"It is." Misty said, nodding and pressing a kiss to Cordelia's head, "We sure got lucky didn't we?"

"Yea," Cordelia said, glancing at Misty before turning her gaze back to Elliott, "We sure did."

"Well, I'm gonna crack inta these smores. I'm dyin' here. Ya want one?" Misty asked, already opening the bag of marshmallows as Cordelia chuckled.

"Sure, I'll take one." Cordelia said as Misty skewered two of them, holding them over the fire for a moment.

"Do ya like yours burnt or nah?" She asked, "I like em burnt, but most people hate that. I just don't see the point in wastin' good food."

"Whichever is fine." Cordelia said, throwing the swamp witch a small, adoring smile.

Misty chuckled but refrained from burning them, knowing the supreme was just trying to be polite about it, and she slid the toasted marshmallows onto the crackers and squished in a piece of chocolate, moving to feed Cordelia hers, only to smear chocolate all over the supreme's face. "I might not be as good at this as I thought…" Misty said sheepishly, Cordelia laughing.

"Ya think?" Cordelia teased as Elliott walked up to them, still grinning from ear to ear.

"You have a little something…there." She said, circling the supreme's face with her hand, Cordelia throwing her an unimpressed glare.

"Really? I didn't notice." Cordelia said sarcastically, Elliott putting up her shirt sleeve covered hands in mock surrender.

"Ok, ok. Just trying to warn you." Elliott said defensively, grabbing the bag of marshmallows from Misty and going to make her own s'more.

The rest of the group quickly circled back around the fire, roasting their own marshmallows. David managed to light his on fire, and began chasing Elliott around the yard with it as the group laughed. Elliott went along with it at first, thinking the boy would let up pretty quickly, but he didn't, and Elliott decided she had enough, speeding up to get a good distance away from him before she stopped, turning around and focusing on the flaming marshmallow until it exploded, David nearly dropping the stick in surprise. "Hey!" Cordelia yelled, letting the girl know that wasn't ok, and Elliott shot her a look before she rolled her eyes and nodded, coming back to sit with the group.

The group sat around for a while, and after the s'mores were all gone Elliott felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, pulling it out to see a group text from Madison. "Drinking in the greenhouse?" She said.

Elliott heard hushed whispers from the other side of the fire, feeling her phone buzz a few more times. "Duh." Coco said, "We're in."

"Me too." David said.

"Ha," Elliott responded, "I think I've pushed my luck enough for today. You guys go ahead."

"Loser." Madison replied, and Elliott noticed when she glanced up that a majority of the group had already left, David included. Slowly the remaining few wandered off, leaving Cordelia and Misty alone with her.

"Where did everyone go?" Cordelia asked, noticing everyone's absence.

"Greenhouse." Elliott said, throwing the woman a smirk.

"Ah." Cordelia said, nodding knowingly. She wasn't oblivious to the girl's sneaky habits, as much as they wanted to think she was. She always knew they were drinking out there, she just didn't have the energy to try and stop it. "I'm glad you didn't go."

"Hey I listen to rules sometimes." Elliott joked as Cordelia pulled the girl closer, Elliott now half laying down.

"And David?" Cordelia asked, Elliott giving her a hard stare. "Well you win some you lose some." She chuckled, leaning down to kiss Elliott's head, "Now, I think we have some things we need to discuss."

"Oh, no." Elliott said, huffing as she sat up and faced the supreme, "You don't want to get into this."

"Oh yes I do." Cordelia said adamantly, "How do you know how to pick a lock?"

"I had some shady friends growing up, they taught me." Elliott said with a shrug.

"Why would they teach you?" Cordelia asked.

"Because they wanted me to help them. It was a bunch of homeless kids who robbed houses so they could make some money. I never helped them though, armed robbery wasn't really my style." Elliott explained.

"And teaching Mallory how to climb out her window?" Cordelia asked, Elliott letting out a sigh.

"I had to sneak out of places, you know this." Elliott said.

"How about driving? Did David teach you?" Cordelia asked.

"Oh god no." Elliott laughed, "That car was his baby, no way would he have ever let me drive it. A foster parent taught me."

"You ran away when you were 10." Cordelia stated, thinking Elliott was fibbing.

"I learned to drive when I was like 7." Elliott explained, "It was a pretty common thing actually, they would teach us so we could run up to the store to get stuff when they didn't feel like it, which was always. If we ever got caught they could just say we took the car, it was an easy out for them."

"But then you would have been very out of practice." Cordelia said, trying to understand why Elliott would think driving was even remotely ok.

"I had to do it at the last house, so I wasn't out of practice." Elliott said, knowing the answer still wouldn't get her out of trouble.

"Elliott, you know you can't do that. You're a smart girl, you know better." Cordelia said sternly, Elliott biting her lip.

"Yea, I do." She said, although Cordelia knew she was hiding something.

"Why did you do it?" Cordelia asked, Elliott glancing away from her, "I know there's something you aren't telling me. You wouldn't do it without a reason."

"Teenage rebellion?" Elliott offered, Cordelia shooting her a stern look, which just made her sigh. "Fine." She said, "Queenie and Madison got trashed one night when I was staying with them, and they ran out of booze and wanted to go to the store to get more. They didn't realize how drunk they actually were, and they thought they could drive, but I knew they couldn't. I tried to get them to just go to bed or to walk there, but they were dead set on driving and said they were fine, so I made a choice."

"Why didn't you call me?" Cordelia asked, her anger fading to concern.

"Because I knew you would kill them." Elliott said.

"How could they be so dumb?" Misty asked, stunned.

Elliott shrugged, "They realized how messed up it was the next day and they felt awful about it, they profusely apologized for it and they were more careful after, so I just dropped it. It was either I drive or I let them risk killing someone, so I just did it."

"You should have called me." Cordelia said, Elliott letting out a sad chuckle.

"And watched your head actually explode?" She asked sarcastically.

"It's better than you going to jail." Cordelia shot back.

"Wouldn't be the first time." Elliott said with a shrug.

"I'm sorry, what?" Cordelia asked, stunned.

Elliott let out a laugh, "I had a rebellious youth."

"I'm going to need more than that." Cordelia said.

"Ugh, fine." Elliott said exasperatingly, "I got caught stealing a few times, once when I was 6 and I was told to do it by a foster parent, once when I was 10, and once when I was 13. Both those were me taking food from a gas station because I didn't have any money. Oh, and I got picked up once when I was working for Thomas. Each time they just dropped the charges and let me go."

"Why didn't I know any of this before?" Cordelia asked. It wasn't like it would change her opinion of the girl, she knew her circumstances before were much different and she didn't hold anything she did before against her, it just would have been good information to be aware of.

"Because I was trying to trap you, duh." Elliott said sarcastically, Cordelia letting out a laugh at the comment.

"You did do that." She teased, pulling the girl back towards her and placing Elliott's head in her lap.

"Elle," Misty said, "Where did ya get that sweatshirt? It swamps ya. Ya don't even look like ya are wearin' pants."

"I stole it." Elliott said, Cordelia chuckling at the comment.

"You, Cordelia Goode, own a sweatshirt?" Misty asked, doubtful.

"It's not mine." Cordelia laughed, Elliott looking at her like she was insane.

"I found it in your closet…" Elliott said, Cordelia staring down at the girl with a smirk on her face as the realization dawned on her, "Oh no."

"What?" Misty asked.

"It's Hank's." Cordelia responded, Elliott letting out a groan.

"Well I'm never wearing this again." Elliott said sarcastically.

"Relax, it looks good on you. It's fine." Cordelia said, running her hands through the girl's damp hair.

"She's right. Ya do look adorable." Misty said, smiling at the girl.

The three of them continued to chat for a little while longer until Cordelia noticed Elliott wasn't participating in the conversation, glancing down to see the obviously tired girl's eyes fluttering open and closed. "Are you falling asleep?" Cordelia teased, Elliott slowly shaking her head.

"Nope, I'm wide awake." She said sleepily, her eyes falling closed as Cordelia played with her hair.

Cordelia chuckled then continued to talk for a few more moments, glancing down to see the girl definitely asleep. "Yea, she's wide awake." Cordelia joked, Misty laughing back at her.

"Hey she was up until 4am and the girls got her up at 6. I would be tired too." Misty said.

"She was up that late? Why?" Cordelia asked, knowing Elliott had actually headed to bed early that night.

"She was worried." Misty said with a shrug, "It's good ta see her so happy though."

"Yea," Cordelia said, smiling at her girlfriend, "It is."

"Are ya happy?" Misty asked, Cordelia nodding back at her.

"I've never been happier in my life." She said, Misty smiling back at her, "I just wish I could have gotten to her sooner. Saved her from everything."

"Ya did save her." Misty said seriously.

"But it was too late." Cordelia said, glancing down, "She's never going to get to be just a kid."

"I think that woulda happened no matter what darlin'." Misty said, Cordelia looking at her questioningly, "Think about all the shit that happened here, Dee. She woulda had ta deal with Hank and Fiona tryin' ta kill everyone, ya bein blind, plus everythin' else that happened. She was gonna grow up fast either way."

Cordelia dropped her head but nodded, knowing Misty was at least partially right, "But it still would have probably been better than what she had to go through. She still won't tell me about most of it, so I can only imagine how horrible it was."

Misty nodded, "Well she looks pretty damn happy right now, so I would say ya doin' somethin' right."

Cordelia glanced down at the sleeping girl and smiled, running her hand through her daughter's hair. She did look pretty happy. "I got lucky with her." She said softly.

"Yea, ya did." Misty said, both staring at the girl for a few more moments until she started to stir, mumbling something incoherently before violently flipping onto her stomach, her shirt riding up around her stomach as she did, exposing her back.

Cordelia instinctively started lightly scratching the young girl's back, Elliott mumbling out in her half-awake state, "That is incredible."

Cordelia let out a chuckle and kept scratching, feeling the raised bumps on her daughter's skin that she hadn't noticed before. It was obvious it was scarring, but the scars didn't all follow a uniform shape. Some were thin long lines, whereas others were shorter and thicker. Cordelia tried to not get too much in her head about it, focusing on the idea that her daughter was with her and safe now, that she was officially  _hers_ , and that no one was going to hurt her again.

The young girl let out a whine when Cordelia finally stopped, which made the older woman chuckle. "You should go to bed, baby." Cordelia said softly, Elliott shaking her head.

"No, I'm awake." She mumbled, obviously not at all awake.

"Are you sure?" Cordelia teased, Elliott's lack of response giving her the answer. "She's so stubborn." She laughed, Misty chuckling next to her.

"Look at the goosebumps on her legs. She's gotta be freezin'." Misty joked before standing up, grabbing a blanket the girls had been using to sit on and placing it over the girl.

"Mist, you don't have to do that. I told her to go to bed and she refused." Cordelia said, Misty shaking her head.

"It's fine." Misty said, smiling when Elliott curled up in the blanket and snuggled into the supreme further, "Look how comfortable she is with ya, she just wanted ta stay by ya."

Cordelia glanced down at the girl and smiled, noticing how Elliott was clutching the blanket in her hand and resting it close to her face. The older witch ran her hand down Elliott's hair and down her back, resting it there. "You should have seen her seven months ago. She didn't want anyone near her." She said as the swamp witch resumed her position next to her, "She was like a completely different person."

"She was scared." Misty said softly.

"I know. You would've thought we backed her into a corner or were holding her hostage." Cordelia said with a snicker, "You could see through it though, at least I could."

"Seven months ago, did ya ever think ya would end up here?" Misty asked, Cordelia glancing down at her daughter and smiling.

"No, I didn't. I'm happy I did though." She said, "I never thought she was going to trust us, any of us. She was just so closed off, so angry."

"She hides her fear with anger." Misty offered.

"She hides her fear with a lot of things." Cordelia said.

"When did it change?" Misty asked, curious. When she showed up it seemed Elliott had already formed a strong bond with everyone, and it was crazy to think it hadn't always been that way.

"I don't know." Cordelia said honestly, "For the girls it happened a lot quicker. She bonded with Mallory pretty instantly, and the rest fell in line shortly after. Madison was the last one, for obvious reasons."

"I'm sure they must've gotten along great." Misty said sarcastically, Cordelia chuckling.

"I thought Elliott was going to kill her the first night she met her. Even I wanted to kill her." Cordelia snickered, Misty smiling back. "But for me, it took a lot longer. She would hang around me when I asked, but truthfully I think she was just trying to be polite. She still was careful, and for the life of me I couldn't convince her she didn't have to be. But it was gradual, I think the first time she actually started to trust me was when I didn't send her away after the whole Thomas thing, but even then…" Cordelia glanced up, thinking she was rambling, but Misty just sat listening, encouraging the supreme to continue. "She was fighting with herself. She knew she trusted me but she also knew she didn't want to, so it was confusing for her, and I knew that. There would be moments when she would slip up and get too comfortable, then she would get distant again, and it would go back and forth. I knew she cared, in her own way, she just didn't really know what to make of it, then you showed up."

"She wasn't used ta someone tryin' ta take care of her." Misty said.

Cordelia nodded, "We were in a weird middle ground when you showed up. We had gotten closer but there was still a wall up. The hospital was really the first time I realized she genuinely wanted me around, which was heartbreaking because she was so scared."

"So when ya asked ta adopt her, she still was off?" Misty asked, confused.

"Yea." Cordelia said with a laugh, "I didn't know what to make of it, I didn't even think she was going to say yes, so I was floored. She told me later that she never even let herself consider it as an option, so really she didn't know what she was getting into either."

"I mean, ya let her keep a dog. How could she've not seen it?" Misty asked, stunned.

"Honestly I think that's part of the reason she said yes. Don't tell her that though." Cordelia joked before turning thoughtful again, "She didn't mean to ask, it slipped out. I could see her preparing for me to get angry about it, so when I didn't it threw her off, and when I said yes she was very surprised. I think that's what made her realize I wasn't like the other adults she had in her life, and that's why she said yes."

"So how did we get all the way here? To this?" Misty said, motioning to the girl who was now slightly snoring. While she had been there for the rest of it, it was interesting to see things from Cordelia's perspective, since obviously the swamp witch wasn't there for everything.

"Baby steps." Cordelia said, smiling down softly at the girl, "It wasn't until we started dealing with the harder stuff that we actually got somewhere, which sounds crazy, I know."

"It doesn't sound crazy. Dealin' with the bad is how ya know ya somethin' is real." Misty said, Cordelia nodding back at her.

"It also forced us to talk about our feelings, which we both hate. When things were good we were so scared of messing them up, but when things were bad…" Cordelia trailed off.

"Ya both had nothin' ta lose." Misty said softly.

"Yea." Cordelia said, "There was nothing to hide behind, it was either we be honest or give up. We both were only mad because we cared, but we wouldn't actually say we cared."

"And now ya are here." Misty said, smiling.

"Now we're here." Cordelia said, "We still have a lot of work to go, and not nearly enough time."

"Ya got a whole life of time." Misty said, "Look at her, she's still small."

"Small in size, yes." Cordelia said with a laugh, "But she's not small. It's crazy to think I only have two years left. She just got here."

"I have a feelin' she ain't gonna be runnin' out the door the second she turns 18. Ya got time." Misty said.

"Yea, she still has zero clue as to what she wants to do with her life." Cordelia said with a smirk.

"She's 16, she doesn't have ta have it all figured out yet." Misty said, Cordelia nodding as her face turned more serious.

"I asked her about it once. She said she never thought about it because she didn't think she would make it that far." Cordelia admitted, glancing over at Misty with sad eyes.

Misty offered her a sad smile, "Well I guess she better start thinkin' bout it, cause she's gotten this far."

"I just can't believe how quickly everything has changed." Cordelia said, "I feel like a completely different person than I was a year ago."

"In a good way?" Misty asked.

"In a lot of ways." Cordelia joked, "I had made peace with the fact that I was never going to be a parent, decided to focus all my energy on running the school and the coven, and then she shows up. Now I don't think I could live without her, I know I couldn't."

"Well the good thing is ya don't have ta now." Misty said with a smile.

Cordelia softly nodded, "I think I'm going to start training Zoe so she can take over the school."

Misty gazed at the supreme, stunned, "Ya wanna hand it over? Why? Ya love it."

"I do love it, but I can't do it all without falling short somewhere. In order to run the school and the coven the way I want to, I have to sacrifice time with Elliott, which I already don't have a lot of. I'm always stuck in my office, so I don't get to spend much quality time with the girls, I barely even teach anymore. If I hand it over to Zoe I can do everything I want to do and not have to worry about all the paperwork." Cordelia explained.

"But won't ya be bored silly?" Misty asked.

"I could be, but if I decide later I want to do it again I doubt Zoe would fight me on it. I can always come back to it. I guess I just have different priorities right now. I would much rather spend my time helping the girls than being an administrator." Cordelia said, Misty nodding.

"Have ya told Elliott yet?" Misty asked, Cordelia shaking her head.

"No, not yet. I didn't want to say anything until I was sure about it. I know she'll try to talk me out of it. She knows how much I love running the school, she'll think I'm giving it up because of her." Cordelia said.

"Are ya?" Misty asked.

Cordelia shook her head once more, "No, she would be perfectly fine if I kept doing what I'm doing. I'm not worried about her. This is for me."

"Well alright then." Misty said with a soft smile, "I think it's a great idea."

"Aw!" Coco screamed drunkenly, stumbling back to the fire with the rest of the girls in tow, "Is she sleeping? That is the cutest thing I've ever seen."

"I'm not anymore." Elliott moaned, raising her head as Cordelia and Misty chuckled.

"Oh shit, sorry!" Coco said apologetically, "I forgot you are literally the lightest sleeper like ever."

"Which is why I told you to go to bed over an hour ago." Cordelia teased, Elliott letting out a huff and plopping her head back down.

"And miss coven girls gone wild?  _Never_." Elliott said sarcastically, flashing the supreme a grin, "The party's just getting started."

Elliott was right, it only took about 20 minutes of drunk Madison to start a fight, her and Queenie going at it despite the supreme's pleas for them to stop. "Bitch I swear to god I will throw you into that fire if you don't sit the fuck down and shut up." Queenie snapped.

"Please, like you could lift me." Madison sneered, Cordelia finally giving up on trying to calm them down, shaking her head.

"You know, I thought I missed having the girls living at the house. But now? Not so much." She said, the girls being too busy yelling at each other to notice.

"What? You don't miss bitchy WWE?" Elliott teased, "At least this time there isn't sharp objects. When I was at their apartment and this happened Queenie grabbed a butcher knife and threatened to slice up Madison's face."

Cordelia let out a groan, "I'm never letting you go over there again."

Elliott dismissed the older witch with a wave of her hand and a chuckle, "It was fine. I stopped them and made them go to bed. I'm just worried about what goes on when I'm not there."

"You told them to stop or you  _made_  them stop?" Cordelia asked, raising her eyebrows.

Elliott threw her a smirk, "Doesn't matter. They stopped."

"It's not your job to mediate their fights. They should know better." Cordelia said, obviously worrying that they were putting her daughter in a toxic situation.

"Hey, at least their fights are interesting. They really should get their own reality tv show, it would be a hit." Elliott joked, Cordelia rolling her eyes in return.

"Yea, that's the last thing we need. Madison is already a diva." She said sarcastically, moving to stand up, "I think I've had enough of this, how about you two?"

"You really trust their drunk asses with an open flame?" Elliott joked, Cordelia narrowing her eyes.

"Language, missy." She said, Elliott smirking back at her, "I trust them." Elliott stared back at her mother, the doubt plastered on her face. "On second thought, maybe we should put it out."

"There it is." Elliott teased as Misty moved to put out the fire.

"You're leaving?" Mallory whined, Coco turning towards the standing women and pouting along with her.

"Come on, it's only midnight. We'll be good we promise." Coco begged, Cordelia rolling her eyes and smirking.

"As much as I love spending quality time with you all, I'm exhausted. It's been a long day." She said, Coco dropping her gaze, obviously sad, but nodding. The supreme moved closer to the woman, whispering something in her ear as Coco glanced at Elliott and laughed, the girl creasing her eyebrows questioningly as Cordelia walked back over to her.

"What was that?" She asked, Cordelia just shaking her head.

"Nothing." She said, grabbing the girl around the shoulder and leading her back to the house, "I just said I needed to get you in bed before you decided to just sleep outside all night."

"I wouldn't sleep  _outside_." Elliott whined, "I would at least go to the greenhouse. I'm not an animal."

"Sure." Cordelia teased.

Elliott walked up to her room and quickly flopped on the bed, sprawling out as the supreme watched from the doorway to her own room. "Elle, you still have to change." She said, laughing at the idea of Elliott sleeping in her normal clothes.

"Nope, too tired." Elliott mumbled from her bed.

"You didn't even turn out the light." Cordelia said, amused as she walked to her daughter's door.

"Don't care." Elliott mumbled, not even lifting her head.

"Come on, up." Cordelia laughed, walking over to Elliott's dresser and pulling out her pajamas.

Elliott cracked open one eye, "Don't wanna change."

"I know, but you already have issues sleeping as is." Cordelia argued, knowing Elliott would end up getting up in the middle of the night to change anyways because she would be too uncomfortable, "Now come on, sit up."

Elliott let out a huff, taking every ounce of energy in her to sit up, her head lolling to the side in her half asleep state. Cordelia moved to tug the sweatshirt up her torso and over her head, laughing when it got stuck. She pulled one of her own t-shirts over Elliott's head, the girl lazily shoving her arms through the holes as Cordelia worked the shirt down her, then laying back on the bed. "Done." She mumbled out, Cordelia laughing and shaking her head at her stubbornness.

"Not done, you still have to change your pants." She teased.

"It's fine." Elliott mumbled, not wanting to put in the effort to stand and change.

"It's not fine and you know it. Come on, we're almost done." Cordelia said, Elliott letting out a huff.

"Nooo…" She whined, flipping over and burying her head in her pillow.

"Elle, you don't even have to get up. Just raise your hips so I can get these off of you." Cordelia said, tugging on the girl's shorts.

Elliott's eyes shot open at the movement, and she quickly flipped over and sat up. "I can do it." She said, obviously much more alert as Cordelia handed her the pajama pants, "Thank you."

Cordelia watched her daughter curiously as she stood and pulled on the pants, confused by the sudden shift in tone. "Are you ok?" She asked once Elliott had sat back down, the girl looking up at her and nodding.

"Yea I'm fine. Why?" She asked, hoping the supreme didn't feel her anxiety pick up.

"It just seemed like…" Cordelia trailed off before shaking her head and blaming it on her own tiredness, "Never mind."

"Uh, ok." Elliott said, shocked she had managed to get out of it so easily. She had thought for sure that Cordelia was going to push the obvious issue, but she didn't.

"Ok." Cordelia said, snapping out of her trance. "Goodnight, sleep tight." She said, reaching to give the girl a hug and kissing her forehead, "I love you."

"Night, love you too." Elliott said as the supreme pulled back, Cordelia switching off the light as she closed the door.

The supreme headed off for bed, but despite being exhausted, she just couldn't turn off her brain. She wasn't making it up, was she? Elliott really did have a reaction; it wasn't just in her head. She could feel the girl's energy bottom out as she tugged on the shorts, she watched her eyes snap open. That wasn't just nothing. Cordelia's mind briefly flashed to the Thomas incident, the last time she had tried to undress the girl and realized her pants were already half undone. She never asked about it, she didn't want to push too hard, especially when the girl was already so upset.  _But I never asked._

Elliott, of course, had never spoken another word about it, and with the chaos of everything else it had slipped out of the supreme's mind, which of course she beat herself up for now. Still, it didn't really seem to fit. Surely if what the supreme was worried happened actually happened there would have been signs before, especially right after the incident. Elliott seemed fine, she didn't even flinch when Cordelia undressed her that night. Sure, it could have been an issue later, but with the way Elliott worked Cordelia couldn't really see that.  _I'm just overreacting. She was just surprised._

But she wasn't surprised, Cordelia knew that, she could  _feel_  it. It wasn't shock, it was gut wrenching fear. The same fear she could feel in the girl's nightmares, the same fear she could feel that night in the hotel with the girls, the same fear she felt when she touched Elliott and she immediately threw up. But that fear didn't start with Thomas, it started much later.  _You're going down the rabbit hole. Stop it._

With a sigh the supreme stood, walking downstairs in search of wine, knowing it wasn't going to do anything to ease her overthinking mind, but trying none the less. She was surprised to see the kitchen light still on, walking around the corner only to see Misty smearing a bagel with cream cheese. "Oh," Cordelia said, "I thought everyone was asleep."

"Nah," Misty said, throwing the supreme a smile, "I was starvin', and the girls are still outside."

"Ah." Cordelia said, offering the swamp witch a lackluster smile as she headed over to the counter and uncorked a bottle of red.

"Ya ok?" Misty asked, noticing the supreme's off disposition.

"I'm fine. Just couldn't sleep." Cordelia said, glancing over at Misty and seeing the witch wasn't buying it.

"Are ya sure? Cause ya were all smiley earlier and now ya just seem sad." Misty said, pressing for her girlfriend to talk to her.

"We had a good day…" Cordelia said, obviously hinting that she didn't want to screw it up.

"But?" Misty asked.

"I'm probably just overthinking as usual." Cordelia said, trying to dismiss everything.

"Dee," Misty said, walking over to the woman and tucking a piece of long blonde hair behind her ear, "Talk ta me."

Cordelia let out a sigh, "Elliott tried to go to bed still in her clothes, she didn't want to change so I helped her. She was fine with me changing her shirt, but when I went to take of her shorts something happened. It was like a switch flipped and she insisted on doing it herself, which is fine. She said she was fine but it just felt… off." Cordelia glanced at the younger witch as she nodded, "Like I said, I'm probably just overthinking it. It's just her energy was familiar, it was the same one that she has whenever she has that nightmare, which only started happening a few months ago…"

"I don't think ya are overthinkin' it." Misty said honestly, "We all know Elle isn't as good at hiding things as she wants ta be."

Cordelia sat silent for a moment, "I think she was raped."


	47. Chapter 47

After that night in the kitchen, Cordelia had tried her best to get the idea out of her mind. Her and Misty had talked about it, and while they both agreed it was a definite possibility, they didn't want to push Elliott into talking about it before she was ready to, knowing that if they forced it out of the girl it could do more harm than good. Still, the supreme consulted Elliott's therapist on how best to handle it, although she seemed just as surprised as Cordelia was, leading the woman to think Elliott hadn't talked about it with anyone. Her therapist wasn't much help, not swaying in one direction or the other. She just said that if it was really bothering the older woman that she could bring it up, but if Elliott didn't want to talk about it to not press, which only made the supreme crazier over it.

A week and a half later Cordelia had her hands full. A few of the girls had snuck out to a party the weekend before last, bringing back a nasty virus with them that had since spread through the coven like wildfire. The week prior half the girls were too sick to even get out of bed, much less attend classes, and Cordelia and the rest of the witches ran from room to room taking care of them. Elliott had acted strangely when the girls started getting sick, avoiding anyone who had been in contact with the sick ones and washing her hands religiously, to the point Cordelia considered she might be a germaphobe, but when asked the young girl just said she didn't like getting sick, to which the supreme replied that  _no one_  likes getting sick.

One morning after everything had calmed down and the last sick girl had returned to class, Cordelia strolled by Madison's lesson only to be stopped by the witch. "Hey," Madison said, getting the supreme's attention, "Where is Elliott?"

"Oh," Cordelia said, scanning the girls faces and realizing her daughter wasn't there, "She must have overslept. I'll go get her." As the supreme walked up the stairs she thought about how unusual it was, Elliott never was one to oversleep, especially considering she had gone to bed early the night before. She pushed open the door to see Elliott indeed had overslept, the covers half pushed onto the floor, only one corner of the blanket actually on Elliott, covering her face. "Elle?" Cordelia said softly, the girl groaning in response, "It's 10:30, you're supposed to be in class."

Elliott opened one eye and immediately felt the pounding in her head and the aches in her joints as she moved them. She had started feeling off the day before, and had gone to bed early in hopes of sleeping off whatever it was so she didn't have to tell Cordelia, but it didn't seem to work out in her favor, in fact it had just gotten worse. Being sick had never worked out in Elliott's favor, and each time she did get sick she felt her anxiety full force. She couldn't let Cordelia know, she just had to get through it. She sat up in bed quickly, ignoring the stings of pain as she forced her body to move when it obviously didn't want to. "I'm up. I'm going." She said quickly, trying to look as least sick as possible.

The older witch could tell the girl was disoriented, and she briefly wondered if her daughter was having another episode, considering how much she slept. "Are you ok?" She asked, hoping if something was off the girl would tell her and they could avoid any possible outbursts.

"Yea, I'm fine. Just late." Elliott said as she hopped out of bed, quickly discarding her pajama top and switching it out for a sweatshirt, then changing into leggings.

"Are you sure?" Cordelia asked, the girl glancing up at her and nodding. Cordelia just nodded and left the room, shutting the door behind her and heading to her study. If it was an episode, Elliott definitely would have snapped back, so maybe the girl really just did accidentally oversleep.

Elliott headed to the bathroom and stood in front of the sink, splashing cold water on her face in an attempt to make herself look less like the walking dead. She looked like absolute shit, and she knew it, but it would have to do. The witch briefly thought about just telling the supreme and heading back to bed, but that quickly disappeared after Elliott remembered how off Cordelia had been the past few days. She had practically been avoiding Elliott, which of course she blamed on the copious amounts of paperwork she had to do, but Elliott didn't buy it, something was wrong, and Elliott didn't want her being sick to be the strong gust of wind on a house of cards.

After a very unsuccessful pep talk with herself in the mirror and a half assed attempt to cover her sickly pale face with some foundation, Elliott wandered down just in time for her second class. She wandered to the back of the room and sat down in an empty chair, trying her best to focus on Zoe's lesson about incantations, but soon after class had begun she found herself zoning out, slumping further into her chair and resting her cheek on her fist. That proved to be a big mistake, as she started to drift off about halfway through the hour and a half long class. "Elliott?" Zoe called out, the young girl jerking her head up at the noise, "Am I boring you that much?"

Elliott knew the witch was joking from the smirk on her lips, but still she apologized, "No, sorry." She tried to sit up in her chair and refocus as Zoe smiled and carried on, but it was hard to focus on anything but how shitty she felt. She ended up dozing off a few more times throughout the class, which Zoe definitely noticed, but didn't say anything.

Finally, Zoe had the class break off into small groups to work on the incantation they just learned. The rest of the girls had split off pretty quickly, but when Zoe glanced at the young girl she was once again falling asleep, her head in her hands. She walked over to Elliott and placed a hand on her back, the girl jerking awake at the touch. "Are you sure you're ok?" Zoe asked gently, knowing Elliott was normally a very diligent student.

"Uh, yea, sorry. I just didn't sleep well last night." Elliott lied, trying to right herself.

"Do you want to just go back to bed?" Zoe asked, concerned, "I'm sure Cordelia wouldn't mind. It's not like you haven't practiced this incantation before."

Elliott shook her head, "No, I'm ok. I just have to wake up." She quickly joined the group closest to her and figured out the incantation they were working on was indeed one Elliott had been doing for months, a levitation spell. Elliott normally avoided doing spells in front of the others, which was how they all came to believe she didn't actually have any powers, and this time was no different. She simply sat back while the others worked and waited for the class to be over, although she at least tried to make it look like she was participating.

Once class was dismissed Elliott quickly headed to the kitchen and grabbed herself a cup of coffee, hoping it would give her even just an ounce of energy. This was so much harder than she thought it would be. Before, whenever Elliott was sick, no one really paid that much attention to her to even notice. She was always in big schools with large class sizes, even if she was noticeably sick the teachers never really cared, and her foster parents definitely never did. But the coven was much smaller, she had more friends, more people that would notice her lackluster disposition. It was a lot harder to fake it when everyone knew you were faking it, and Zoe definitely knew.

The older witch had headed to Cordelia's office the second class was done, more so out of concern than anything else. Elliott had a reputation for being incredibly stubborn, especially when it came to her own well-being, and Cordelia was the only person she would actually listen to. She knocked twice before opening the door, Cordelia glancing up at her and offering her a warm smile, "What's up?"

"Have you talked to Elliott this morning?" Zoe asked, Cordelia nodding.

"Briefly, she overslept for class this morning so I woke her up. Why?" Cordelia asked, knowing the conversation was going somewhere.

"She kept falling asleep during class. I asked her if she was feeling ok and she said she was just tired, but she looks awful. I told her to go back to bed and you wouldn't mind, but she turned me down." Zoe said.

"Of course she did." Cordelia said, her face growing slightly concerned as she stood, "Thank you, I'll check on her. Where is she?"

"In the kitchen I believe." Zoe said, the two walking together downstairs before Zoe took off in preparation for her next class.

Cordelia moved towards the kitchen, spotting Elliott reading at the counter and noticing she wasn't eating lunch like the rest of the girls. "Hey you." She said as she walked toward the girl, Elliott glancing up, "Are you feeling ok? Zoe said you were having trouble during class."

Elliott nodded, "Yea, I'm fine. Just tired."

"Ok." Cordelia said, "You know you can go back to bed if you want, right? Maybe sleep for a couple more hours?" Cordelia looked over the girl for a moment, she did look off, but the supreme couldn't figure out why. She did look exhausted, but considering how little the girl actually slept that wasn't unusual. Cordelia had tried to get Elliott on a better sleeping schedule, but it didn't really work out well. She only slept a maximum of six hours a night usually, so when the supreme moved for an earlier bedtime it only resulted in the young girl being awake at 4am as opposed to 8. The only time she really slept well was when she stayed with Cordelia, which was happening less and less as of late. Still, something was off, even her energy was different, less of a pulsing and more of a murmur.

Elliott shook her head, "Nope. I'll be fine. I have coffee so I'm good."

"Coffee isn't a substitute for sleep." Cordelia said seriously, Elliott smirking back at her.

"That's rich coming from you. You're practically a walking espresso machine." Elliott teased, Cordelia laughing back at her.

"Do as I say, not as I do." Cordelia joked back, moving to kiss the girl on the forehead to discreetly check for a fever.

"Elliott!" Emma called, the young witch shifting away from Cordelia's incoming touch to glance back at the other witch, "Come here!"

Elliott nodded and stood from her chair, feeling a sudden rush of lightheadedness wash over her, spots invading her vision. She stumbled a bit, trying to keep herself in a standing position, which Cordelia definitely saw. "Are you sure you're ok?" She asked, Elliott glancing up at her as she blinked rapidly to clear the spots.

"Yea, I'm fine. The coffee just hit." Elliott joked, although her voice came out more as a high pitched squeak. Cordelia smiled slightly at the joke, but Elliott could see the concern in her eyes, so she quickly moved to the other side of the room to talk with the girls.

Luckily for her, Cordelia was distracted by another group of girls wanting to show her the incantation they just learned, so after she was done helping Emma with a spell the girl had yet to master she was able to slip out of the kitchen and head towards the greenhouse. She had to find something to do that would keep her awake and be a good distraction, and the greenhouse had always been her escape. When she stepped outside she was immediately hit with a dense sheet of classic New Orleans humidity, coupled with a surprise heatwave that made the air so thick it was hard to even breathe. Still, she pushed forward towards the open greenhouse door, meeting a very sweaty Misty inside.

"Who thought a heatwave in November was a great idea?" Elliott joked, Misty smirking back at her.

"I know, it's awful. Global warming or some shit. Even the plants hate it." Misty said, Elliott laughing as she started to work, ignoring the sweat dripping down her face. She brought three plants back from the cusp of death, pushing through the lightheadedness she felt each time, and started to tend to some others before the heat finally started getting to her. "Ya alright?" Misty asked after the girl had decided to sit down, "Ya look all pale."

"I'm fine, it's just crazy fucking hot." Elliott said, waving off the woman. Misty threw her a look at her language, to which the young girl rolled her eyes, "Not you too."

"I didn't say anythin'. Ya need ta go inside before ya have a heatstroke." Misty said.

"You've been out here longer than I have." Elliott argued.

"I am used ta it, ya are not. Go inside, Elle." Misty said firmly, the girl sighing before deciding to comply, starting her trek back to the house.

Really, it was a good thing she was heading inside, because if she spent one more moment in that heat she thought for sure she would self-implode. She felt weak and spacey and the last thing she needed was to push herself too much and pass out. She walked inside and immediately headed to the bathroom to wash the sweat off her face, splashing herself with cold water until she saw the last of her foundation run down the drain in a milky stream. It wasn't like it was helping much anyways, everyone still was pestering her with questions regardless of if she looked sick or not. She dried herself off and walked out of the bathroom, sitting down at the kitchen table and throwing her phone on it, scrolling through it with her head resting on one hand as she willed herself to feel better.

She scrolled for a few moments before she heard someone walking into the kitchen and stopping, glancing up to see Zoe staring back at her. "Jesus, Elliott. You look like shit." Zoe said, Elliott waving her off.

"I'm fine, I was just outside." Elliott said, hoping her answer for her obviously sickly appearance would suffice.

Zoe shot her a look, "Yea, that's what it is. I'm getting Cordelia."

"Don't." Elliott said, shooting the woman a glare, "I'm fine. You all need to chill out. Jesus."

"I don't know what this is but it's definitely not  _fine_ , Elle." Zoe said, pointing at her, "You look like you're about to keel over."

Zoe moved to walk towards the stairs, Elliott practically yelling at her, "Zoe  _don't_. You don't need to bug her."

"Yes I do." Zoe said adamantly, turning to face the girl only briefly before walking towards the stairs again.

Before Elliott could even process what she was doing in her panic, she had already pushed inside the girl's head, stopping her in her tracks.  _Forget this ever happened and go get ready for your next class._  She pulled back, ignoring the guilt she felt in the pit of her stomach, and watched Zoe change direction and head off towards the living room, letting out a sigh of relief. Yes, that was bad, and she knew she shouldn't have done it, but the last thing she needed was for Cordelia to be worried. Cordelia was already acting strangely, and one more thing could certainly send her over the edge, or at least that's how Elliott rationalized her actions to herself. The girl stood, deciding to hang out in the library for her free periods, and started walking towards the stairs before she felt that rush of dizziness once again, only this time it was much stronger. She stopped, trying to clear the spots from her vision, but they only got worse and worse, her hands and feet starting to tingle as her vision went black.

"Elle?" the young witch heard as she came to, struggling to open her eyes. She must have twitched, or showed some sign of life, because she felt a hand on her face, trying to draw her out of the throes of whatever this was. What was this again? Sleep? Elliott really didn't know, all she knew was she wasn't in her bed, and whatever she was laying on was hard and cold. The floor? "Baby, you have to open your eyes for me." That was Cordelia, Elliott was sure of it. But why did she sound so scared? What happened? "Elle. Baby, please."

The young witch struggled to open her eyes, but damn it she was going to do it. She managed to crack one eye open, only slightly, before she was blinded by the light of day. She grimaced for a moment before opening both of them, her vision blurry as she focused her eyes on Cordelia leaned over her with worried eyes, and then it all came rushing back. Her being sick, going out to the greenhouse, Zoe trying to get Cordelia, Elliott stopping her. "I'm fine." She mumbled out, trying to sit up but being forced back down by Cordelia's hands.

"Elliott, no you aren't. Stop. Just stay there." Cordelia said softly but stern, Elliott shaking her head and pushing back against Cordelia's hands as she forced herself into a sitting position.

"Yes I am I just did too much magic. I'm fine." Elliott said as she put her arms down next to her and tried to stand, Cordelia holding her down as she tried to push against her.

"Elliott,  _please_." Cordelia said loudly, her voice raspy and filled with panic.

Elliott snapped her gaze up and stared at her mother, seeing the panic on her face and the tears in her eyes. For the first time Elliott saw the overwhelming fear in her eyes, which didn't help the guilt she already felt. She stopped pushing to get up, offering a small, defeated, "Ok."

Cordelia offered a nod that was barely noticeable before she held Elliott's head in her hands, pressing her cheek to the girl's forehead. Elliott could feel her hands shaking, the supreme's heart pounding so loud Elliott briefly wondered if it was her own. "You're burning up." Cordelia said, pulling back and looking her daughter in the eye, still holding her face in her hands, "Why didn't you tell me you didn't feel good?"

Elliott's already overwhelming anxiety picked up, her eyes wide as she stared at her mother and fumbled to speak. She knew the supreme could feel it, which was only confirmed when Cordelia pursed her lips and nodded slightly. "Stay here." She said, rising from her crouched position and heading to the kitchen, only to return a moment later with a bottle of Gatorade. "You're probably dehydrated. Drink this." She said, handing her daughter the opened bottle before kneeling back down.

Elliott took a few bug gulps while her mother stared at her, and she couldn't quite read the supreme. She was being short, calculated, but Elliott couldn't tell if that was anger or fear. Probably a mix of both, given how tense she was. There was no softness about her like there normally was, only hard stares and a clenched jaw, which did nothing to quell Elliott's already overflowing anxiety about being sick in the first place. The young witch went to hand back the half-full bottle, mumbling, "I'm fine."

Cordelia shook her head, refusing to take back the bottle. "All of it." She said sternly, Elliott nodding slightly and averting her gaze as she drank the rest of the bottle. Cordelia grabbed it from her immediately, offering a frim "Stay" as she walked back into the kitchen to throw it out and grab a bottle of water.

She walked back in and stared at Elliott for a moment, the girl getting uncomfortable under her gaze. "What?" Elliott asked softly.

"Trying to figure out if I can get you upstairs and in bed by myself or if I need Misty to help me." Cordelia said flatly, still staring.

Elliott rapidly shook her head, "I can stand." She quickly pulled herself to her feet, Cordelia rushing to her and grabbing Elliott's arms to try and steady her, "See? I'm fine."

Cordelia threw her a glare, "Excuse me if I don't believe you after the hundred times I asked and you said you were."

"Because I am." Elliott said firmly, Cordelia shaking her head.

"No, what you are is stubborn." Cordelia stated, Elliott throwing her a glare, "We need to get you upstairs."

"I can get upstairs." Elliott said, Cordelia looking at her doubtfully, "I'll go slow, ok?"

Cordelia pursed her lips but nodded, letting Elliott go first and walking behind her in case she passed out again, mostly just so that she wouldn't fall down the stairs. Once Elliott made it safely to the top she started in the direction of her room, Cordelia grabbing her hand to stop her. "Nope." She said, "I want you in my room so I can keep an eye on you." Elliott was still for a moment before she slowly shifted direction, walking into the supreme's room and sitting on the edge of the bed.

Cordelia was quick to hand her the bottle of water, Elliott shaking her head at the offer. "You know if you keep making me drink I'm going to have to get up to pee." She said, hoping it would make the supreme at least crack a smile, but it didn't work, which only furthered the girl's idea that she was mad at her.

"I'll go with you." Cordelia said seriously, pushing the bottle of water towards Elliott as the girl threw her a glare, "Drink it."

Elliott nodded and drank a few sips out of the bottle, then a few more when Cordelia gave her a hard stare. Finally, she set the bottle on the nightstand, "If I drink anymore I'll explode."

"Fine." Cordelia said, her voice still painfully neutral, "Stay here. I'll be right back." She walked downstairs and grabbed various medications, guessing what Elliott's symptoms were since she knew getting the girl to tell her would be far more difficult than it should have been. While she was downstairs Elliott noticed the time on the clock, standing up right as the supreme walked back in the room. "I told you to stay." Cordelia said shortly.

"I have class." Elliott said, motioning to the clock.

"You aren't going to class." Cordelia said, "You're staying right here."

Elliott shook her head, "I'll be fine. I just have to take it easy."

"Elliott, you passed out." Cordelia said, shaking her head as she moved toward the girl, Elliott stepping back involuntarily, "You're getting into pajamas and staying right here with me."

Elliott looked up at the woman questioningly before shaking her head, "You don't have to take care of me. I'll be fine. You have work to do."

"My work is taking care of you." Cordelia said as she walked over to her dresser and pulled out a pair of pj's. While that should have quelled Elliott's anxiety, it really didn't, it only made her more fearful that she was adding another thing to the supreme's plate and distracting her from the work she would probably much rather be doing. "Put these on." Cordelia said softly, handing Elliott a pair of the older witches own pajamas.

"Now it's ok if I stand?" Elliott asked, trying to cover up her fear with sarcasm.

"I figured you wouldn't like me undressing you." Cordelia said, giving the slight attitude right back as she averted her gaze.

Elliott went white as a sheet, realizing the supreme hadn't dismissed the incident like she thought she had, but she still stood and turned her back as she lifted her sweatshirt over her head, giving the supreme a glimpse of the faint scars she had felt a couple weeks prior. There were a few that were long and thin and ran down either side of the girl's spine, then a few others closer to her shoulder that were perfect circles. Cordelia knew right away those were from cigarettes, she had a few of her own that were Fiona's doing, mostly from nights when she was drunk and couldn't tell the difference between an ashtray and her daughter's arm. If the supreme had to guess, the long ones were from a leather belt, although she physically cringed when she thought of how hard they must have swung to break the skin.

Elliott felt Cordelia's eyes on her, and for a moment she questioned why, that was until she remembered the scars. She didn't think much of them, most of her friends had ones that matched, but for someone on the outside it probably wasn't exactly a common thing. She quickly tugged off the sweatshirt and replaced it with Cordelia's shirt, pulling it down to cover the scars as a blush creeped up her cheeks. She was never self-conscious about them before, they just were there, but now with Cordelia staring at her it was all she could think about. She discarded her leggings and tugged the matching pants up as quickly as she could before she walked away from the bed. "Where are you going?" Cordelia asked.

"You made me drink like a gallon of liquid. I have to pee." Elliott said, walking into the bathroom and closing the door. She sat down and tried to collect herself, knowing her emotions were all over the place.  _It's going to be fine._  It would have been fine if Cordelia wasn't insistent on staying with her, if she would just go back to work like Elliott desperately wanted her to. Cordelia could barely be in the same room as Elliott without being weird, and now she was going to spend hours on end with her? Even that would have been ok had Cordelia not seemed so angry with Elliott. There was no way that was going to end well.

Apparently, Elliott took longer than Cordelia was comfortable with, the supreme calling out after a few moments, "Are you ok in there?"

Elliott let out a sigh, it was going to be one long ass day. "Helicopter parent, I'm fine." She said as she moved to wash her hands, walking back out and sitting on the bed.

"I am not a helicopter parent." Cordelia scoffed, even though she knew she kind of was.

Elliott let out a small chuckle, "You should go back to work."

Cordelia let out a sigh, "I'm not going back to work." She knew where her daughter's pestering was coming from, the fear that she was being too much combined with the fact she had never really had someone take care of her before. She was trying her best to not get annoyed with it, but it still grew tiresome.

"You have more important things to do." Elliott said, borderline whining.

"Elliott, it's fine." Cordelia said, coming off more agitated than she would have liked, noticing how Elliott tensed up next to her. She thought for a moment, trying to think of what to say that would satisfy her daughter's anxious mind, "It's my job to take care of the girl when they are sick, so I'm doing my job."

"You didn't stay with them the whole time." Elliott argued, Cordelia growing frustrated.

"That's because I knew they would listen to me and stay in bed." Cordelia said sharply, immediately feeling guilty when she felt Elliott's anxiety kick up a notch. The girl stayed quiet, so Cordelia reached for the basket of medicine on the bed as she let out a sigh. "You need to take some medicine to help." The change in Elliott's energy was so abrupt the supreme snapped her gaze up to look at Elliott as the girl violently shook her head, "Elle, it will help."

"It's a virus." Elliott said, doing all she could to not burst into tears on the spot.

"I know, this isn't antibiotics. It's just to bring down the fever and help you sleep." Cordelia said, trying to reason with the girl, but Elliott just shook her head once again.

"I don't need it." She argued, Cordelia mistaking her fear for just plain stubbornness.

"Yes, you do Elliott. Take it please." Cordelia said sternly, pushing the medication towards the girl.

"No." Elliott said firmly, Cordelia letting out a frustrated sigh.

"Just take it." She said, Elliott shaking her head and scooting away from the older woman. Cordelia saw Elliott inching toward the edge of the bed, instinctually grabbing the girls arm to keep her from falling, a rushed and very loud, "Elliott!" escaping her lips.

Elliott's eyes went wide as the supreme forcefully grabbed her arm, utterly terrified. As Cordelia watched her daughter's breathing get faster she realized how the whole incident had looked to the girl. Elliott didn't know she was about to fall, from her own distorted perspective it looked like Cordelia was trying to force her, and she quickly switched gears as she watched Elliott drift further into a panic attack. "Oh god." She said softly, silently cursing herself, "I'm so sorry. You were about to fall off the bed…"  _She wasn't being stubborn, she was scared. You missed it._ She tried to move to hold Elliott, but stopped herself, knowing in her daughters panicked mind that she was the enemy. "Sh sh, it's ok. Just breathe. I won't make you take it." She said softly, waiting for Elliott to acknowledge her before she did anything further.

_Elliott gets panicky when she's sick, not angry._

David told her, he fucking told her and she forgot. She just thought Elliott was being difficult. How stupid was she? This was her fault.

Elliott finally made eye contact with her and nodded slightly, putting her head in her hands after as she tried to get her breathing under control. That's when Cordelia moved to hold her, crawling across the bed and pulling her daughters head to her chest as she rubbed Elliott's back. She felt terrible, truly, but that didn't really matter at the moment. What mattered was calming Elliott down, and right then the girl was trembling so hard Cordelia could feel her heart breaking. "Shh…" She said softly, trying to sooth her as best as she could, "It's ok baby, you're ok."

It didn't help that Elliott was sick, her rapid breathing causing a coughing fit so strong it made her pull away from Cordelia just to keel over, struggling to breathe. Cordelia watched with teary eyes as her daughter struggled, willing it all to just go away. With the rate things were going, Elliott was either going to throw up or pass out, possibly both if the coughing fit didn't let up. Cordelia just grabbed the girls hand, if anything to let her know she wasn't alone. She couldn't stop it, and for the first time in a long time the supreme felt completely helpless.

Finally, the coughing stopped, Elliott's quick breaths turning to deep, slow ones. Cordelia could tell the panic attack wasn't over, it just wasn't physical anymore, and she quickly tugged on Elliott's hand and pulled the girl towards her, leaning back on the headboard as she held her until the tremors stopped, whispering soothing things into Elliott's ear as the young girl stared blankly in front of her. Cordelia didn't even know if she could hear her, but that didn't stop her from trying. After sitting like that for a few minutes Elliott broke her blind stare and glanced up at Cordelia briefly before glancing back down. "I'm sorry." She said softly, shaking her head slightly as Cordelia just pulled her tighter.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, that was my fault." Cordelia said softly.

"You were just trying to help..." Elliott trailed off, sounding frustrated with herself.

"But you can't tell the difference and I know that." Cordelia said, "That's not your fault."

"It is though." Elliott said, pulling away and sitting up, resting her head on her hands, "You should go back to work." Cordelia let out a sigh and moved to object, but Elliott jumped back in, "I'll stay in bed and take the medicine. You don't have to watch me."

"Did you ever consider that I  _want_  to watch you?" Cordelia asked, Elliott throwing her a look, "I'm serious."

"Why would you  _want_  to watch a sick kid?" Elliott asked, more confused than anything else.

"Other sick kids? No.  _My_  sick kid? Absolutely. It gives me an excuse to take a break and spend time with you, which we haven't gotten to do much lately." Cordelia said, Elliott giving her an unimpressed face.

"Well if you haven't noticed I'm not exactly fun to be around right now. Also, you hate sitting around." Elliott fired back.

"I like sitting around with you." Cordelia said, "Here, I'll make you a deal. You take this medicine and sleep a bit and I'll get some work done on my laptop while you do, ok?"

"You're really going to watch me while I sleep?" Elliott asked sarcastically, Cordelia nodding, "That's not creepy or anything."

"Well I'm sorry, but you really scared me. So I'm going to sit here while you sleep and make sure you are in fact still breathing." Cordelia shot back, Elliott's cheeks blushing.

"None of the other girls passed out." She said, obviously embarrassed about the whole thing.

"The other girls didn't push themselves like you did, they knew to stay in bed. Not to mention they also don't have the health issues you do." Cordelia said, trying to make Elliott feel a little less guilty.

Elliott scoffed, "I do not have health issues."

"Elle, you are severely underweight. Your body takes a lot more energy to fight the virus than other girls simply because you can't hold in heat. You getting sick is a lot more extreme than other girls." Cordelia explained. Elliott had barely put on any weight since returning home, despite everyone's best efforts. Her first month back she had managed to gain back a little under 10 pounds, but on their most recent trip to the doctors a week prior she still hadn't managed to crack 100 pounds, which scared Cordelia. The doctor reassured her that it was normal and her body was still in a state of shock from losing so much weight so quickly, and it would take some time for her to get it back.

"I've been eating." Elliott said defensively.

"I know you have. It's not your fault it's just the way it is right now. We have to be careful with you." Cordelia said softly, knowing Elliott's emotions were probably all over the place, "Have you eaten today?"

"I had coffee…" Elliott said, Cordelia throwing her a playful glare.

"Coffee isn't food. You can't take medicine on an empty stomach. Here." Cordelia said, reaching into the basket of medication and pulling out a granola bar, "Eat this."

"If you knew I didn't eat then why did you ask me?" Elliott asked, taking the bar and unwrapping it.

"It was just a hunch. Believe it or not, I do know you fairly well." Cordelia said playfully, Elliott rolling her eyes as she took a bite.

Once she was done, Cordelia placed the medication in the girl's hand and reached for the water bottle on the nightstand beside her. "Thank you." Elliott said quietly, staring at the pills in her hand with wide eyes.  _It shouldn't be this hard. Just take it._  But it was that hard, and Elliott hated that it was hard. Why couldn't anything in her life ever be easy?

Cordelia watched the struggle on her daughter's face and it broke her heart. How could someone have hurt her this deeply? After a few moments she broke, saying, "I won't make you take it."

"I know." Elliott said, still staring at the medication, "I can do it."

"Elle, you don't have to. It's ok." Cordelia said, reaching for the pills.

"Stop, please." Elliott said softly, Cordelia stopping mid-air as Elliott took a deep breath and threw the pills in her mouth, chugging the bottle of water as fast as she could, "There."

"Is it always this hard?" Cordelia asked, curious. While getting Elliott to take any medicine was always difficult, it never was quite this bad.

"Not always." Elliott said honestly, "It depends on the day. Sometimes it's easier. They used to give me cold medicine, that's why this one was… hard. The pills were the same."

"Why didn't you say something? I would've gone to the store…" Cordelia said, Elliott shaking her head.

"That's exactly why." Elliott said, "I didn't realize until I actually looked at them. It's fine, it's actually good that I took those ones. Progress I guess." Elliott set the water bottle back on the nightstand and slid down into the bed, "Now I do believe we have a deal. Start working." Cordelia grinned at the girl and nodded, pulling out her laptop and working for a few hours while the girl slept.

Just before dinner, Cordelia heard rushed footsteps on the stairs, Misty bursting into the room a few seconds later. "Elle passed out? Why didn't ya tell me?" She said loudly, Cordelia jumping up and shushing her, Misty glancing over at the still girl, her eyes widening, "Is she ok?"

"Shh…she's fine." Cordelia said quietly, whisking Misty out of the room and into the hallway, "She's just sick."

"So it wasn't the greenhouse?" Misty asked hesitantly, her eyes still wide with worry, which Cordelia found to be adorable.

"She was in the greenhouse?" Cordelia asked, Misty nodding, "It's like 120 degrees outside."

"She came out durin' lunch and was helpin' me with plants, but she didn't look good so I sent her back inside. I thought it was the heat." Misty said shaking her head, obviously feeling guilty.

"It wasn't the greenhouse." Cordelia said reassuringly, "It probably didn't help, but she was having issues before that."

"How did it get so bad?" Misty asked, Cordelia shaking her head.

"I don't know. She told me she was fine, she never said she was sick, not that I expected her to." Cordelia said quietly, "I guess she just pushed herself too hard."

"That doesn't surprise me. Ya know, considerin' everythin'." Misty said, Cordelia looking at her questioningly.

"Considering what?" Cordelia asked.

"Cosniderin' her foster parents used ta get real mad when she got sick." Misty said, "She never told ya about that?"

Cordelia shook her head, "No, she didn't. That explains why she was so scared of me."

Misty nodded, "She told me that whenever she got sick she got punished for it, so she's probably losin' her god damn mind right now."

"I would never do that." Cordelia said, shaking her head furiously.

"I know that, and so does she, but it doesn't erase everythin'. Ya know?" Misty said softly.

Cordelia nodded, "But how do I even begin to handle this?"

Misty smiled, "The same way ya handle everythin' else."

Cordelia shook her head, "Well the way I'm handling it obviously isn't working. She had a damn panic attack."

Misty eyed her curiously, thinking for a moment, "Were ya doin' the panicky thing ya do?"

Cordelia stared at her, confused, "What panicky thing?"

"Ya know," Misty said, "Where ya get all panicked and then ya start pacing and actin' all funny."

"She passed out, of course I was panicked." Cordelia said, "I wasn't pacing."

"No but when ya get like that it's hard ta tell if ya are angry or scared." Misty said, "And if she was already worried ya would be mad…"

Cordelia nodded, the pieces finally coming together, "That's why she wanted me to go back to work so badly."

"She didn't wanna make it any harder for ya." Misty said sympathetically, the two talking for a few more moments before Cordelia headed back in and resumed her position on the bed, working for a little while longer.

A little after 6pm, Cordelia heard Elliott mumble something in her sleep, turning to look at the girl, her face squinched up and sweaty. Right as she moved to run her hands through her daughter's hair, Elliott whimpered out, "Mama" before her eyes opened and she shot up in bed, her breathing strangled as she gasped for breath.

Cordelia quickly moved so she was in Elliott's line of sight, cupping her face in her hands, "Hey, it's ok, you're safe. I'm right here." Elliott stared at her with dazed eyes, the supreme moving to press her lips to the girl's forehead as she whispered, "It's ok, baby. Love, you're ok." Elliott nodded, her breathing evening out as she came to her senses, but she still was very out of it when Cordelia asked, "What happened?"

"Witch hunters…" Elliott said quietly, staring blankly, "In the house." She blinked a few times rapidly, then stared up at her mother, her eyes looking like she had seen a ghost.

"It's ok." Cordelia said soothingly, "It was just a dream."

Elliott shook her head. "It didn't feel like a dream." She said seriously, "That was real."

"Fever dreams, love." Cordelia said, "It messes with your head and they seem so vivid you would swear they were real." Cordelia could see the girl couldn't quite shake the dream off, so she said, "Show me." Elliott stared at her a moment and the supreme nodded, pushing for her to do it, so Elliott took a deep breath and dove in.

Cordelia could see it vividly, the house was completely dark, the moon streaming through the sheer curtains on the windows. She could feel the man pressed up behind her, pressing the cool blade of a knife to her throat, or Elliott's throat, since she was seeing it through her eyes.  _Walk_ , he said. She takes a few steps before she hears barking, glancing over to see Max snarling at them.  _Get it to quiet down or we'll kill it._ The blade leaves her throat as she moves toward the dog, bending down and shushing him as she slides a piece of paper into the buckle of his collar, petting his head for a few moments before she feels the knife at her throat again, a strong hand tugging her up. He pushes her toward the supreme's open bedroom door, seeing a man hovering over a sleeping Cordelia and Misty.  _Now you can come quietly or we'll kill every witch bitch in this place._

Elliott pulled back, staring at a very dazed Cordelia, the supreme blinking for a few moments before shaking her head, grabbing Elliott's hand and staring into her eyes, "It was just a dream. I wouldn't ever let that happen, ok?"

Elliott nodded slightly and Cordelia was quick to pull her into a hug, kissing the side of her head. She could see why Elliott was so uneasy, it did seem very real, if the supreme didn't know any better she would say it was a vision, but Elliott didn't have visions, and she definitely did have an overactive imagination.

Elliott sat in her mother's embrace for a few moments, trying to shake off the remnants of the dream, when she caught the reflection of the lamp out of the corner of her eye, turning her head to see a tv where it wasn't before. "Am I losing my shit or was there not a tv here before?" She asked, Cordelia chuckling.

"Language, missy." She snickered, "I set it up while you were asleep so we could have a movie night in bed."

Elliott pulled away from the woman, throwing her a sarcastic look, "You're really sticking to this whole spending time with me thing, aren't you?"

Cordelia looked back at her incredulously as she stood and changed into pajamas, "Why wouldn't I want to spend time with you?"

Elliott didn't even think before the words were tumbling out of her mouth, "I don't know, you tell me. You've been acting weird for weeks." Cordelia dropped her gaze and Elliott immediately cursed herself for not thinking, knowing it was probably going to force them to have an uncomfortable conversation at literally the worst time.

"I was hoping you wouldn't notice." Cordelia said quietly as she changed.

"I'm a natural panicker. I notice everything." Elliott said, deciding to just take everything head on, "What's up?"

There were a few moments of uncomfortable silence as Cordelia tried to figure out what she was going to say. She considered just lying, saying it was something else entirely, but the longer she waited the more Elliott knew it was about her, so she decided to bluntly ask, "Did Thomas rape you?"

"No." Elliott said, Cordelia meeting her gaze, "He didn't."  _But someone else did._  Cordelia didn't look convinced, scanning the girls face for any trace of a lie, so Elliott continued, "He tried to, but then I sort of ripped his limbs off."

Cordelia let out a strangled laugh, "Yea, you did."

"Where is this coming from?" Elliott asked, even though she damn well knew where it was coming from. She wanted Cordelia to explain how she saw it so Elliott could figure out a way to excuse what happened, since she already knew she would never admit the real reason behind it. How the hell could she look Cordelia in the eyes and tell her that Elliott being taken away from her resulted in her getting raped by her foster father? That would kill her, and Elliott would take that secret to the grave before she ever spoke a word about it.

"The night of the adoption." Cordelia said, coming to sit on the bed, "I tried to help you change and you freaked out. You said you were fine, but I felt it."

"Why didn't you say something then?" Elliott asked.

Cordelia let out a sigh, "I didn't want to force you into talking about it."

"So you thought avoiding me was a better option?" Elliott joked, the supreme throwing her a playful glare.

"I wasn't avoiding you." She stated, Elliott just nodding back at her, "You would tell me if something was going on, right? So I could help?"

Elliott didn't want to blatantly lie to her mother, so she tried to partially doge the question, hoping the woman wouldn't notice, "I would come to you if I needed help."

Luckily, the answer seemed to satisfy Cordelia. "So that's what those nightmares are about? Thomas?" She asked, Elliott looking confused.

"I have about a dozen different nightmares. Which one?" She asked.

"The one from that night at the hotel. They have the same energy." Cordelia explained, Elliott nodding to let the woman know she knew what she was talking about.

"That one is different. They evoke the same fear though, so I guess that's why they match." Elliott said, not wanting to admit the reason she freaked out that night wasn't because of Thomas at all.

"And I'm assuming you still aren't ready to talk about that one?" Cordelia asked, Elliott nodding.

"Maybe one day, but not today." She said, Cordelia smiling softly.

"Well I'll be here." The supreme joked.

Cordelia managed to convince Elliott to eat, then take more medication, which Elliott noticed were different pills than last time. She threw the woman a questioning glance, to which Cordelia responded, "I think we've had enough progress for today." Cordelia started up the fifth Harry Potter movie, knowing that was where they had left off, and wasted no time in pulling Elliott towards her as she laid back on the bed, Elliott settling into her as they watched.

While Cordelia started out rubbing the girls back lazily, she soon found herself to be mindlessly tracing the scars along her daughter's spine, something that Elliott quickly caught onto. "That one was from a belt." Elliott said quietly, Cordelia looking at her questioningly, "The scar."

Cordelia removed her hand as soon as she realized what she had been doing, her cheeks blushing as she apologized, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"

"It's ok." Elliott said, trying to reassure her, "Really. It's fine."

"How did it happen?" Cordelia asked softly, Elliott's face settling into a grimace.

"I woke up for school one day and I was sick. I told my foster parents, but they just told me to get ready for school and not say another word about it, so I did. I ended up puking in the cafeteria, which meant my foster father had to leave work to come pick me up." Elliott said, Cordelia nodding back at her, "That didn't go over very well, obviously. He said I should have been more careful, hidden it better. I never told anyone when I was sick after that."

"How old were you?" Cordelia asked, trying to hide her horror.

"Six." Elliott responded, Cordelia nodding slowly.

"Is that why you tried to hide it?" Cordelia asked, Elliott nodding, "You know I won't ever punish you over something you can't control, right? Getting sick is human, it's not a choice."

"I know." Elliott said, "I knew… I just couldn't get past the fear of it, even though I knew it was in my head."

"Well, you're used to dysfunction, that's your normal." Cordelia said softly, "It's hard to break that cycle."

Elliott nodded, "Tell me about it. I've never felt crazier in my life." Cordelia threw her a questioning glance, so she elaborated slightly, "Being here is very… confronting."

"How so?" Cordelia asked.

"Well," Elliott began, sucking in a breath, "Before, I thought I was normal, or at least mostly normal and functioning, and I guess I was in that environment. But now, being here and being around people who are actually normal has made me realize just how messed up I actually am. It's hard to deal with sometimes."

"You aren't  _messed up_." Cordelia said seriously, kissing Elliott's forehead, "You're perfect."

"I think we both know that is absolutely not true." Elliott said sarcastically, Cordelia pulling her tighter.

"You're perfect to me." Cordelia said sweetly, Elliott throwing her a look.

"I'm sure Ted Bundy's parents thought he was perfect too." She joked.

"Elliott, you are not a  _serial killer_." Cordelia said seriously.

Elliott grinned back at her, "What are the qualifications?"


	48. Chapter 48

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok this chapter is real cute and there's so much fluff but also some funny stuff. Also the first of my one shot series from this universe is up so if you havent seen that yet check it out!

"And what would you two be doing?" Cordelia asked, walking into the kitchen to see Elliott and Madison hunched over at the table whispering. It was the week of Thanksgiving, and Cordelia had just returned from dropping the last few girls off at the airport, relishing in the calmness of the normally busy house.

"Conspiring on how to kill you." Madison said bluntly, Elliott rolling her eyes as she grinned at Cordelia.

"We're planning a road trip." She said, Cordelia raising her eyebrows.

"A road trip? You two? In a car for hours?" She teased.

"It's hypothetical, but yes." Elliott laughed.

"It's not hypothetical." Madison said, "We're doing it when you turn 18."

"Why wait until she's 18?" Cordelia asked, curious.

"Because Maddie doesn't want to drive the whole time and when I turn 18 I can get my license without having to take the classes. I just have to pass a test." Elliott explained.

"Or you could just take the classes and get it now." Cordelia offered, Elliott shaking her head.

"No, I can wait. It's not like I really need it right now; the buses work just fine." Elliott said with a shrug.

"But if you had a car and your license you could go with Misty to the swamp and I wouldn't have to take you." Cordelia said, trying to motivate the girl. She had already planned for Elliott to take the classes and get her license and she already had a car lined up to buy, but Elliott just never seemed interested.

"And miss out on your freak outs?  _Never_. That's half the fun." Elliott teased, Cordelia rolling her eyes.

"So where are you going on this trip?" Cordelia asked, amused, "The Grand Canyon?"

Madison scoffed, "I'd rather rot than stare at a giant ass hole in the ground."

"Maddie is choosing places based on where she can get the best Instagram pics." Elliott explained, "And my choices are just based on whatever cities have the strangest names."

"Aren't you afraid you'll go there and there will be nothing to do?" Cordelia asked, smiling.

"I've never had issues making my own fun before." Elliott said with a shrug, "It'll give me an interesting story to tell. Who doesn't want to hear about a town called Experiment?"

"Isn't that in Georgia?" Cordelia asked, Elliott nodding.

"Hey, Elle. I know you had a sad childhood or whatever, but have you ever gone anywhere?" Madison asked.

"I was in Florida for a short period of time." Elliott answered, Cordelia giving her a confused look.

"When did you go there?" She asked.

"I once hitchhiked there with some other boys that ran away from the group home when I was nine." Elliott explained, "We made it there for all of three days before one of them got stopped by a cop and turned us all in."

Cordelia sat in shock for a moment, but Madison was quick to snark, "Jesus, dumbass. You know it's a fucking miracle you've made it this long."

"Don't I know it. I didn't have a lot of common sense back then." Elliott joked, Cordelia shaking her head as she groaned.

"Well, I have to go get ready. The girls are going out tonight and getting plastered as a celebration for making it this long without snapping one of those bratty witch bitch's necks. God I'm so happy they are fucking gone." Madison sneered, Elliott chuckling, "But we're all coming back here to crash, so get ready to party."

"You don't even live here anymore." Elliott teased.

"Don't lie, you fucking miss me." Madison said, standing from the table.

"I don't miss you and Queenie screaming at 2am, that's for damn sure." Elliott said sarcastically, Cordelia shooting her a look as Madison walked out.

"And what are you going to do tonight, kiddo?" Cordelia asked, walking over to the girl and dropping a kiss into her hair.

"Probably the same thing I do every night." Elliott said with a shrug, "Apparently I'm a creature of habit."

"So I'll have to drag you out of the library at 2am…again?" Cordelia teased, Elliott grinning back at her as she stood up.

"You know me so well." Elliott said sarcastically, disappearing up the stairs as Misty walked in.

"Hey you." Cordelia said sweetly, smiling at her girlfriend.

"Hey darlin'." Misty said, walking up to the supreme and pressing a kiss to her cheek, "The girls all gone?"

"Mhmm. A week of peace and quiet." Cordelia mused, "I love my girls, you know that, but they were driving me  _crazy_."

"Don't I know it. I had ta break up three fights last week, that's gotta be a record." Misty said lazily, searching through the fridge for a moment. "Hey Dee," She said, whipping around to face the supreme, "Wanna get drunk tonight?"

Upstairs, Elliott had made herself at home in the library, curled up in a heap of blankets and reading a new book Cordelia had given her. The supreme had told her it was one of her favorites, and Elliott could tell it had been cracked open time and time again by the creasing in the spine. While it wasn't the type of book Elliott normally gravitated towards, she still made it her mission to read it, since it was obviously so important to Cordelia she felt the need to share it with her. She heard a knock on the doorframe and glanced up, expecting it to be Cordelia, but was surprised when David appeared. "Hey," Elliott said, smiling at him, "You going out?"

"Uh, yea." David said hesitantly, "I wanted to talk with you about something."

"What's up?" Elliott asked, David coming to sit on the couch next to her, still not speaking, "Why are you being so weird?"

"I'm not… I…" David began, shaking his head, "I just wanted you to know I have a girlfriend, I've had a girlfriend for a few months now."

Elliott let out a laugh to ease the tension, "I know."

"You know?" David asked, shocked, "How did you know?"

"It wasn't exactly solving a murder, David. You aren't slick." Elliott teased, "I saw her texting you and she was at the hospital  _constantly_." David let out a laugh, "Why are you telling me now?"

"Because I'm bringing her to Thanksgiving, and I didn't want it to be weird." David explained.

"That's a bold move." Elliott said sarcastically, "You're going to bring her around  _Madison_?"

"Well… yea." David said, obviously just now realizing how big of a mistake this whole thing was, "She's going to be the odd one out. Oh god, I shouldn't have invited her."

"She's not going to be the odd one out." Elliott said, "Trevor and a couple of his friends are coming too, although they've met Madison before so they're a little more prepared."

"Why are they coming?" David asked suspiciously, "Aren't they just friends?"

"I mean yea, but they wanted to come see the coven and Trevor wanted to take me on a real date or whatever." Elliott said offhandedly.

"Wait, are you seeing him?" David asked, the tone of the room drastically changing.

"Kind of?" Elliott said, "It's not like serious or anything, I mean he lives across the country."

"But he's coming to see you to spend the holiday with you, so it must be at least a little serious." David said, his tone becoming more and more accusatory.

"Woah, relax. I'm not getting serious with anyone, especially not right now. We've just been talking for the most part." Elliott explained, trying to defuse the situation. She knew David was always overprotective of her, but this was next level.

"For the most part?" David asked, Elliott throwing him a look.

"Why are you so bugged about this? It's not a big deal." Elliott said.

"Because, Elle. You just had your life completely flipped upside down and you're barely hanging on, and you think it's a good idea to get a  _boyfriend_?" David asked before shaking his head, "You know what, never mind. I gotta go. I'm late."

Elliott sat stunned and confused as David walked out of the room and down the stairs, sitting still for a moment before shaking her head and refocusing on her book. David had never taken too well to Elliott having boyfriends, he always hated them, but usually it was for good reason. This one there really wasn't a reason, David hadn't even met him, so Elliott decided to brush it off until later, knowing once he actually met Trevor he would see there wasn't much to worry about.

Downstairs, Cordelia and Misty sat on the couch in the living room, a string of random wine and liquor bottles placed in front of them. Cordelia wasn't really the type to excessively drink, but when Misty pleaded her case the supreme couldn't really say no, not when the swamp witch explained the only time she ever got drunk was off those Jell-O shots and that she wanted to actually do it on purpose once to see what it felt like when it wasn't forced upon her. Cordelia had offered to be sober while Misty did it, if nothing other than to watch out for her and make sure she was ok. But Misty didn't want to do it alone, she wanted to do it with Cordelia, and since the girls were out of town, Cordelia didn't really have a good reason to say no.

To avoid a possible puke fest, Cordelia had decided the best course of action was to do the hard liquor first, then switch to wine as the night went on. It was Misty who suggested doing shots as opposed to mixed drinks, and Cordelia's stomach turned at the thought, she hadn't done shots since college, and she really had no desire to do them again. But this wasn't just another girl who was curious about alcohol, it was Misty,  _her_  Misty. She would take shots and even take a bullet if it would make Misty happy, so with that, they downed their first shot of vodka.

"That's terrible." Misty said, sputtering after the shot was over, "People do this?"

Cordelia coughed through the burning in her throat, "Yea, stupid people. God, why did I ever think this was cool in college?"

"I prefer the Jell-O." Misty said, shaking her head.

"That's just because it's food." Cordelia teased, "We can stop if you want."

"Nah, I want ta do this. It just threw me off. Hollywood talks about shots like they are somethin' amazin'." Misty said, Cordelia laughing.

"The fact that Madison likes them should have been your first clue." Cordelia teased, Misty blushing, "There are other ways to get drunk, we can make mixed drinks."

"Nah." Misty said, shaking her head, "This way's quicker. I just wanna get it over with."

So Cordelia complied, taking shots of whiskey, then tequila, then more whiskey since Misty said it was the one she preferred. By the time they had finished the last of the five shots they took, Cordelia was drunker than she'd been in years, and she knew with Misty's non-existent tolerance that she was even worse. "No more." Cordelia said when Misty reached for the shot glass again, her words slightly slurring, "If you drink too much you'll throw up. Give it a little bit."

Misty had willingly switched to wine after that, although she found she wasn't really fond of that either. "Tastes off." She said, Cordelia snickering beside her.

"Of course it does, it's wine, Mist." Cordelia said. The two continued to chat endlessly, breaking out into giggling fits multiple times over the next hour.

"We're runnin' out of space in the greenhouse." Misty slurred, "Elliott and her damn green thumb, I can't stop her."

"Hmm…" Cordelia said, amused, "Guess we'll just have to build a bigger one."

Misty's face lit up, "I can build one."

Cordelia looked doubtful, "Mist, you cannot. Do you know how hard it is to build a building? Myrtle tried to build that greenhouse herself and she couldn't do it, she ended up getting so frustrated she set the whole heaping mess on fire and then hired someone to build it for her."

"I can do it. I'm handy." Misty slurred, "I'll get Elle to help me, she'll love it."

"You will not." Cordelia said incredulously, "I don't need her going to the hospital  _again_. If she shows up one more time I think that doctor is going to call CPS on me for neglect."

Misty chuckled as Cordelia's face went pale. "What?" She asked.

"I forgot Elliott was upstairs." Cordelia slurred, her eyes wide as she stared at Misty before both of them broke into giggles.

"So she's gonna see us like this?" Misty asked through her laughter, Cordelia shaking her head.

"I guess so. God, I'm such a bad mom." Cordelia joked.

"You're a great mom." Misty said, not catching on to the supreme's playful tone and thinking she was serious.

"I was kidding, well partially kidding." Cordelia clarified, "I've never let the girls see me this drunk."

"Why not?" Misty asked, "You're a fun drunk, and it's not like ya ain't a adult."

"Well I'm responsible for them. I want to set a good example." Cordelia argued.

"Ain't the girls all comin' back tonight and sleepin' at the house?" Misty asked, Cordelia nodding, "So they're gonna see you."

"They are." Cordelia said, "It's fine. Madison has been dying to see me shitfaced for years."

"Is that what they call it?" Misty asked, "Shitfaced?"

"That's what Madison says." Cordelia said with a laugh, "I'm not really up to date with the terms anymore."

The two women heard the sound of light footsteps on the stairs, turning to see Elliott running down them with a blanket around her shoulders like a cape. "Elliot!" Cordelia yelled adoringly, a goofy grin plastered on her face.

Elliott stopped in her tracks, looking up to see the women staring at her, cocking her head to the side at Cordelia's goofy expression and lazy tone. "Whatcha doing?" She said carefully, eyeing the array of bottles in front of the women.

"We're… shitfaced?" Misty said, glancing at Cordelia for approval over the use of the new term, to which the supreme giggled and nodded, "Shitfaced. We're shitfaced."

"Just a… typical Tuesday for you?" Elliott asked, hoping the two women didn't catch on to how tense she was. Elliott's experience with drunk people hadn't exactly been pleasant, and although she knew Cordelia wouldn't hurt her, the whole situation still made her feel like there was a rock in the pit of her stomach.

Cordelia just giggled and shook her head, that grin refusing to leave her face, "Misty wanted to get drunk."

"Ah." Elliott responded, inching towards the kitchen, "I was just going to get water."

"No," Cordelia whined, "Come here, baby. Sit with us."

Elliott shuffled her feet for a few moments, she really couldn't deny her mother's request, not when she seemed so excited. She slowly walked towards the women, Cordelia scooting over and pulling Elliott down right between her and Misty, the supreme's hand immediately raking through her hair and spinning a piece around her finger. "You're so pretty." Cordelia cooed, resting her head on Elliott's shoulder as the girl blushed and smiled uncomfortably.

"Ya really are darlin'. Ya could be a model." Misty said.

"Look at how red her face is getting." Cordelia slurred, "I think we're embarrassing her."

"I think we are too." Misty said, leaning into Elliott and nudging her with her shoulder, causing the young girl to giggle a bit.

Cordelia pulled Elliott towards her, wrapping her in a hug as she kissed the side of her head, "It's not our fault you're so damn perfect."

"Language, missy." Elliott teased, Cordelia throwing her a look. Misty just chuckled as she reached for the bottle of whiskey, Elliott spotting her out of the corner of her eye and quickly grabbing the bottle from her, "No no no. I don't need to be shoving my fingers down your throat because you decided to give yourselves alcohol poisoning."

"I don't have a gag reflex." Cordelia said offhandedly, Elliott staring back at her with a mortified look on her face. "What?" Cordelia giggled, "I don't."

"I really didn't need to know that." Elliott said seriously, Cordelia smirking back at her.

"Wait, how do ya know that?" Misty asked, Cordelia grinning as Elliott sank lower in her seat.

"Oh my god." She moaned, Misty just staring at her confused.

"What?" the swamp witch asked, "I wanna know."

"I'll let Elliott explain it to you since  _apparently_  she knows so much." Cordelia teased, Elliott throwing her a glare.

"Really?" She asked, "I have to explain it?" Cordelia just grinned and nodded at her, obviously trying to make her vastly uncomfortable. Elliott sighed, trying to think of how to explain it in the least sexual way possible. "You ever had a popsicle?" She asked, Misty furrowing her eyebrows and nodding, "You ever tried to fit the whole thing in your mouth?" Another nod, "If you can fit the whole thing in your mouth without gagging, you don't have a gag reflex."

"Smooth." Cordelia teased, poking at the girl's sides.

"Dee, I've never seen ya eat a popsicle." Misty slurred, obviously not getting the suggestive undertone.

"Yea, I haven't either." Elliott teased, Cordelia biting her lip to keep herself from laughing as she threw Elliott an unimpressed glare, "Hey, you started it."

"What am I missin' here?" Misty asked, Cordelia shaking her head.

"Well mama could explain it to you, or you could wait until Madison gets back and ask her. I'm sure she'd be thrilled to fill you in." Elliott said sarcastically, Cordelia narrowing her eyes.

"Misty, do not ask Madison." Cordelia said sternly.

"I don't talk ta Hollywood if I can help it." Misty said seriously, Elliott breaking into giggles.

"That's probably a wise choice." She said.

Suddenly, Misty's face lit up. "Elle!" She yelled, Elliott whipping her head around to look at her.

"You know I'm right next to you, right?" She laughed, Misty bouncing up and down in her seat, "I'm now also partially deaf in my left ear, so thank you."

"Ya got the magic box, the magic music box." Misty said excitedly.

Elliott stared at her with a perplexed look on her face, her eyebrows furrowed as she said, "You mean my speaker?" Misty nodded furiously, "Do I need to teach you how Bluetooth works?"

Cordelia let out a laugh, but Misty just ignored the question all together. "Go get it!" She yelled, "Put Stevie on the magic box!"

Elliott shook her head and looked at Cordelia, who was just giggling and smiling, "She really doesn't know what Bluetooth is?"

"I guess not." Cordelia said, biting her lip as she glanced at Misty with love filled eyes.

"Elle go!" Misty yelled impatiently.

"Alright I'm going, I'm going. Jesus." Elliott huffed, standing from the couch and walking up the stairs. She returned a few moments later only to see Misty staring her down with pleading eyes, "Did you just sit there and wait for me to come back?"

"Yes." Cordelia said, taking a sip of her wine.

"Alright, is there a particular song you want?" Elliott asked, Misty shaking her head.

"Surprise us. Come on, Dee. Dance with me!" Misty said, pulling Cordelia up as the older woman laughed.

"I'll just put on a playlist." Elliott chuckled, Misty throwing her a confused look before "Dreams" started blaring out of the speaker. The swamp witch's face quickly lit up as she grabbed Cordelia's hand and began twirling around with her. Elliott resumed her place on the couch and watched as her mother was spun around the room, smiling at her incessant giggles. Sure, Elliott was third wheeling hardcore at the moment, but she really didn't mind.

The young girl really didn't grasp just how drunk the women were until she saw them dance, their movements uncoordinated and their balance shaky. However, Elliott didn't think she had ever seen Cordelia smile so much in her life. Cordelia was always so reserved, not exactly stoic, but close. She reminded Elliott of a cool day by the water, where you tuck your hands into the sleeves of your hoodie and your breath leaves your lungs in a fog. Despite the chilly air, there's still something warm about it, something comforting among the grey and blue haze.

But now, as Elliott watched the older witches dance in the fire lit room, watched the excitement sparkle in their eyes, watched the supreme giggle at Misty's twirls without a care in the world, Elliott was filled with a sense of contentment, warming her from the inside out. It was like falling into your own warm bed after a long trip, or sitting in the sun on the first warm day after an unbearably long winter. It felt safe and right and  _good_. For the first time in Elliott's life, she really felt like she was home.

Cordelia looked over at her and smiled that drunken smile, her eyes soft but on fire, her grin lazily favoring one side. "Come dance with us." Cordelia said, slowly walking over towards the girl who had since curled her legs underneath her.

"I think I'll leave that to you." Elliott said with a grin, her mother smiling back at her.

"Elliott…" Cordelia teased, grabbing the young witches hand and giving it a small tug.

"I don't dance." Elliott tried again, Cordelia scoffing.

"And you say I'm uptight." The older woman teased, although her warm eyes gave away her adoration.

"I never said you were uptight." Elliott retorted, the supreme giving another, more forceful tug on the girl's hand.

"Come on." Cordelia tried again softly, pulling the girl to her feet.

Elliott didn't exactly agree, but she didn't say no either, letting the older woman pull her around the table and towards Misty, whose grin was so wide Elliott had to wonder if her cheeks were starting to hurt. "Come on darlin'." Misty drawled, grabbing Elliott's free hand, "Dance with me." Cordelia let go of Elliott's other hand just as Misty spun the girl around so fast she thought she might fall over from the force, a string of giggles leaving Elliott's lips. Misty spun the girl rapidly for a while then stopped, smiling as Elliott stumbled dizzily, grabbing onto Cordelia to keep herself upright. Cordelia grinned at her child, grabbing her hand as Misty took the other and forcing Elliott to dance until she started doing it of her own accord, the supreme's heart swelling as she watched Misty and Elliott spin each other around, not caring about how ridiculous they looked.

It was like watching a wounded bird fly for the first time. Sure, Elliott had always been a little goofy, but she hid it behind some very well crafted one liners and jokes, like a fogged up piece of glass. It was there, and you knew it was there, but you could never quite see it clearly. Here, it was on full display, something Cordelia was reminded off when Misty tickled the girl's sides and she erupted into soft giggles. It was pure, and for a moment Elliott wasn't weighed down by the chaos that all but consumed her, there wasn't the weight of the world on her shoulders, she was free.

The song ended and the first strums of "Landslide" rang through the speaker, Cordelia grabbing the girls hand and pulling her closer. Misty stood by and watched with adoring eyes as Cordelia spun Elliott around, slowly this time, and quietly sang the lyrics with Misty. Elliott started humming along, then singing softly as the second verse began, making Cordelia smile.

"You know the words?" She asked quietly, Elliott nodding.

"Despite what you might believe, I haven't been living under a rock for the past 15 years." Elliott teased, picking right back up with the song, oblivious to the fact that she was the only one singing.

Cordelia watched her daughter in awe, she could sing, like she could  _really_  sing. Cordelia glanced over at Misty and saw the surprise written on her face, neither of them had heard Elliott even so much as hum. Elliott soon caught onto the fact she was singing alone, faltering slightly, but Cordelia was quick to grab her hand and spin her again. "Keep going." She said softly, Elliott looking confused but continuing anyways.

The song came to a close, Cordelia not being able to resist pulling Elliott into a tight hug and kissing the side of her head. "What?" Elliott laughed.

"Nothing, I just love you." Cordelia whispered in her ear, finally pulling back to see Misty standing there with tears in her eyes, "You never told me you could sing."

Elliott let out a breathy laugh, "Everyone can sing."

"Not like that. That was beautiful darlin'." Misty said, wiping away the tears which only made Elliott laugh.

"You guys are a mess." She teased, walking over and picking up her phone,"I'm going to get water."

"No, don't leave us yet!" Misty whined.

"Listen, if you guys don't drink some water ASAP you are going to be hungover. You need water." Elliott said, scrolling through the playlist until she found the song she was looking for, "As Long as You Follow". Cordelia cocked her head to the side as she recognized the tune, throwing her daughter a knowing look and a hint of a smile. Elliott just quirked her head and offered the supreme a lazy smile, "My finger slipped."

"I'm sure it did." Cordelia teased, Misty wasting no time in pulling Cordelia close. "I can't believe her." Cordelia chuckled as the two started to slow dance.

"What?" Misty asked, staring into the Supreme's eyes, a playful smile on her lips.

"My own daughter is playing my wingman." Cordelia said, shaking her head.

"She just likes seein' ya happy." Misty said softly, Cordelia nodding slightly and looking away. "Are ya?" Misty asked, Cordelia looking back at her in question, "Happy?"

Cordelia bit her lip and nodded, "Yea, I am."

"Good." Misty said quietly, a wide grin once again overtaking her features. Cordelia had no choice but to kiss her, it was impossible to stop herself when the swamp witch stared at her like she was the center of the universe. The two continued to dance as they kissed, Misty leading them around the room slowly. Even once the song had ended and all that remained was silence, the two still danced.

"Alright," Elliott said, coming back with bottles of water in hand, "either break it up or get a room."

The two broke apart and Cordelia threw Elliott a smirk, "This is  _my_  house."

Elliott cocked her head to the side, knowing very well she could out sass Cordelia on any given day, "I can always leave." Cordelia bit her lip and shook her head in defeat, "That's what I thought. Now come hydrate before you die." She then paused, thinking for a moment, "Do supreme's even get hangovers?"

"I don't know." Cordelia said, stopping herself to consider the question, she really wasn't sure how far the radiant health thing went.

"But Misty's do!" Misty yelled, walking over to Elliott and chugging the bottle as Elliott laughed.

"Yes, Misty's do." Cordelia snickered.

"I'm starvin'." Misty said after she was done, her voice breathless, "Can we get pizza?"

"All the pizza places closed an hour ago." Elliott said, Misty's face dropping before she perked up again.

"We can make pizza!" She yelled, wandering into the kitchen and opening up the fridge, "We got the dough for it, and it seems easy enough."

"I don't know if I trust you around an oven." Elliott said seriously, watching the woman waver back and forth.

"Mist, we have other food." Cordelia tried, but Misty just shook her head.

"Nah, pizza." She said forcefully, Elliott and Cordelia sharing a look.

"She's going to hurt herself." Elliott said, Cordelia nodding.

"She probably is, but I can't cook and she's very determined." Cordelia shot back, Elliott shaking her head.

"Alright fine, go sit down. I'll do it." Elliott said, walking up to Misty and shooing her out of the way, but the swamp witch didn't move.

"I don't know if I trust ya with my pizza." She said carefully.

"Have you ever made pizza before?" Elliott asked, Misty shaking her head, "Well I have, now go sit down before I burn it just to spite you."

Misty let out a huff, but walked to where Cordelia was now sitting at the counter, "She's bossy."

"She is." Cordelia laughed, Elliott shooting her a look.

"I'm just trying to keep your  _girlfriend_  from harming herself, excuse me." Elliott shot back.

"I didn't know you could cook." Cordelia said, Elliott laughing lightly.

"I can do a lot of things." She said, Cordelia cocking her head to the side.

"Like what?" She asked, Elliott smirking back at her.

"You'll find out eventually." She said mischievously, Cordelia throwing her a look.

Elliott had just gotten the pizza out of the oven when the rest of the girls walked in, or more like stumbled in. "What are you bitches up to?" Madison sneered, Cordelia rolling her eyes.

"Elliott made us pizza." Misty said, Madison glancing over her and trying to see what was so off.

"You're putting her to work already?" Madison said sarcastically, "Damn Cordi, all this work just to get a personal bitch?"

"They were drunk and I didn't want them to burn themselves." Elliott said, Madison looking intrigued.

"Both of them?" She asked, Elliott nodding.

"I'm literally the only sober person in this house." She said sarcastically.

"Damn Cordi, I was right. All it took was a little swamp rat action for you to lose all sense of self control." Madison sneered.

"Well, I still haven't killed you yet so I guess I haven't lost all of it." Cordelia shot back, Madison's shock written on her face. It only lasted a moment, a smirk appearing as she broke out in giggles.

"Holy shit, Cordelia. I think I like you better like this." She said approvingly, Elliott rolling her eyes as she cut the pizza into slices.

Misty immediately reached for one, Elliott grabbing her wrist, "That's still really hot. Don't burn yourself."

Misty threw Elliott a look, "I won't burn myself."

Misty held the piece of pizza for all of thirty seconds before she shoved it in her mouth, her eyes immediately going wide as she opened her mouth and let the slightly chewed up food fall onto the plate Elliott had set down for her. Elliott threw her a disapproving look, to which Misty glanced back at her timidly, "I burned myself."

Elliott sighed and shook her head, pulling herself up so she was sitting on the counter top, "Why does no one ever listen to me?"

"Because you never have fun." Madison sneered, "No one wants to listen to someone who never has fun."

"I have fun." Elliott shot back, Cordelia giggling, "Stop it! I have fun."

"No, you don't. You sit in that library and read your books like a good little girl and that's it. Everyone else is fucked and your still stone cold sober." Madison said.

"Believe me, I would much rather be wasted right now. It would be a lot easier to deal with all of you." Elliott said, rolling her eyes.

"I know how you could have fun." Madison said, smirking, "How about a little game of truth or dare?"

Elliott shook her head rapidly, "No. Hell no."

"Yes!" Misty squealed, "Dee, come on!"

Cordelia glanced at Elliott, who shook her head, "That is such a bad idea."

"Why?" Cordelia asked.

"Because Madison is just using it as a way to torture everyone. All she's going to do is ask you questions that will make you very uncomfortable." Elliott explained.

"Party pooper." Madison scoffed.

"Who says I won't pick dare?" Cordelia asked, wiggling her eyebrows, "Come on."

Cordelia stood and pulled Elliott of the counter, who let out a huff, "Fine."

The girls all sat around in the living room on the floor, since all of them obviously couldn't fit on the couches and chairs. "Where is Mallory?" Elliott asked, finally realizing they were short a member.

"She went home with some hippy dude from the bar. He wasn't so hot but his jeans were so tight it didn't fucking matter. Dude was stacked." Madison said.

"Gross." Elliott said, shaking her head. How they ever convinced her to play with them she couldn't figure out.

"Oh stop whining and grow up. You're going to have to act like an actual adult if you want to play with us." Madison sneered.

"Who said I wanted to play with you?" Elliott fired back.

"Well you are sitting here." Madison said.

"Only because if I didn't you would whine at me  _forever_  about it." Elliott responded, "Now let's play."

"Fine, I'll start." Madison said, gazing at the women, "Zoe, truth or dare?"

"Dare." Zoe said without skipping a beat, she knew better than to say truth to Madison.

"Lick Queenie's shoe." Madison said, sounding bored with the whole thing.

"Ew, gross. No." Zoe said.

"That was the dare. You can do it or I can make you do it." Madison shot back, Zoe letting out a sigh.

"Fine," She said, turning to Queenie, "Give me your shoe." Queenie handed it to her and she shot her tongue out, barely touching the top of it before she threw it back, "There. Done." She surveyed the room, picking out her next target, "Ok Misty, truth or dare?"

"Truth." Misty said, Zoe thinking for a moment.

"What's your body count?" She asked, Misty furrowing her brows before counting on her fingers.

"Well there were the two guys in the swamp, the preacher back home…" She trailed off.

"Jesus." Madison sneered.

"Oh, like ya haven't killed anyone, Hollywood." Misty shot back, not realizing that wasn't what they were actually asking.

"You're dumber than I thought, swampie." Madison shot back, "Not the people you killed, the people you've fucked, dumbass."

"Oh." Misty said quietly, feeling everyone's eyes on her, "Then zero."

Madison let out a laugh, "You're a virgin? That's incredible."

Misty averted her gaze and was quick to move the game along, "Cordelia, truth or dare?"

Cordelia thought for a moment, knowing Misty's questions probably wouldn't be as bad as the rest, but deciding to not play it safe that night, "Dare."

"Ooo. Now we have a game. Better make it good, swamp rat." Madison sneered.

Misty looked around, trying to think of a dare that would satisfy the rest of the group. She couldn't go easy on the supreme, not unless she wanted to be made fun of. Her eyes settled on an almost empty bottle of tequila, "I dare ya ta drink the rest of that."

Cordelia's jaw dropped, realizing she definitely picked the wrong choice. The bottle still had at least four shots in it, probably more. "Can supreme's get alcohol poisoning?" Elliott asked, more out of concern than anything else.

Cordelia looked at her with wide eyes before she let out an obviously uncomfortable laugh, "I guess we'll find out." She shook her head as she grabbed the bottle, screwing off the cap before she took a deep breath and chugged, trying to keep herself from throwing it all back up. "There," she said, settling the empty bottle back down as she sputtered, "And no one else is doing that. I don't need a trip to the ER tonight."

"You're no fun." Queenie joked, Cordelia throwing her a stern look, "It's your turn."

Cordelia glanced around, seeing everyone's slightly impressed faces before settling on Elliott's horrified one. "Elliott." She said sweetly, looking at the girl with adoring eyes, "Truth or dare?"

"Truth, shit." Elliott sputtered, not wanting to even see what the dare would be. It was Cordelia, so more than likely it would be tame, but she also expected Misty's to be tame, so all bets were off.

Cordelia narrowed her eyes and thought for a moment, thinking about what the two had never really touched base on, since they talked about a lot. "Have you ever been in love?" She finally asked.

"No." Elliott answered, everyone looking at her doubtfully.

"Oh come on, David?" Madison sneered, Elliott moving to respond but being cut off, "Don't even say he's like your brother or I'll bring it up in your wedding toast."

"Who says you're invited to my wedding?" Elliott shot back, the rest of the group chuckling, "Queenie, truth or dare?"

"Truth." Queenie said.

"Weirdest place you've ever had sex." Elliott said, feeling like she had to say something risky in order for the rest of the group to not call her out.

"Easy. Bathroom at a club. We didn't even make it to a stall." Queenie laughed out.

"Gross." Elliott responded.

"Hollywood, truth or dare?" Queenie asked, smirking at the witch.

"Your dares are disgusting, truth." Madison sneered.

"Ever faked it?" Queenie asked.

"Please," Madison said with a scoff, "How do you think I became an actress?"

The game went on for a little while, getting increasingly more dirty. Elliott mostly chose dare, knowing they wouldn't make her do anything to crazy with Cordelia around, although they still gave her some pretty gross ones. She definitely proved herself as the most ballsy of the group after she ignored Cordelia's protests to her licking the toilet. Cordelia had decided truth was obviously a much better option than dare, getting hit with an onslaught of sex related questions, like how kinky she was on a scale of 1-10 (she was a modest 4) and what her bodycount was (five). Finally, Madison was up, setting her sights on the youngest witch, "Elliott, truth or dare bitch."

"Truth." Elliott said, shocking everyone.

"Ever smoked?" Madison asked, determined to showcase the girls wild side.

"Yes." Elliott responded, Cordelia trying her best to keep her face neutral.

"What?" Madison asked, Elliott throwing her a smirk.

"You only get one question." She responded.

That only riled Madison up more, and after Zoe dared her to lick her deodorant Madison fired back at Elliott. "Times up bitch. Truth or dare?" She asked.

"I could wreck your day and say dare." Elliott baited, although she knew she was going to pick truth anyways, it's not like Cordelia didn't know drugs were a part of her childhood, pot was the least of her worries. "Fine, I'll give it to you, truth."

"Hardest drug you've ever done." Madison sneered, catching Elliott off guard. Cordelia visibly tensed at the question, knowing the answer herself.

Elliott tried to figure out a response that would be honest and also keep the other witch from prying more, crafting her choice of words carefully, " _Willingly_? Pot."

Madison looked intrigued, but Elliott just shot her a look, and the witch nodded her head, realizing asking any further would be going too far. "Zoe," Elliott asked, "Truth or dare?"

"Dare." Zoe responded.

"I dare you to mix all those bottles in a shot glass and drink it." Elliott said without hesitation, glancing to Cordelia to make sure it was ok. Cordelia nodded, after all it was a single shot, and the wine would drastically decrease the alcohol content.

Zoe complied, mixing the remaining whiskey, rum, vodka, and wine in the glass, then downing it. "That was the worst thing I ever tasted." She said, grimacing.

"That's the point." Elliott laughed, Zoe narrowing her eyes.

"Cordelia, truth or dare?" She asked, obviously trying to get Elliott back.

Cordelia hesitated, knowing whatever was about to happen wasn't going to be good, and the other girls egged her on to choose truth. "Fine, truth." She said with a sigh.

Zoe threw Elliott a smirk, "How big was Hank's dick?"

"Oh fuck you." Elliott said exasperatingly, rolling her eyes. Cordelia didn't say anything about her language, just bit her lip as she stared at her daughter, who let out a sigh as the supreme stared at her with pleading eyes. "Fine." She said, covering her eyes and laying back on the floor dramatically. Cordelia let out a laugh and used her hands, the girls whistling and gasping at the reveal.

"Damn, he was packing. No wonder you stayed with him that fucking long." Queenie said, Elliott letting out a groan.

"I hate you all." Elliott moaned.

"Madison," Cordelia said, "Truth or dare?"

"Truth." Madison replied.

"What's your body count?" Cordelia asked.

"Why? Do you want to fuck me? Because we all know you're into younger girls." Madison sneered back, Cordelia just laughing, "Honestly, I lost count after 30." The rest of the girls snickered as Madison set her sights on Elliott once again, "Truth or dare?" She asked.

"Dare, but make it good because I'm going to bed after this." Elliott said.

Madison smirked and was quiet for a moment, trying to think of a dare that would make Elliott wildly uncomfortable, which seemed to be a hard feat. Just then, they heard the front door open and close, David walking into view and offering them a tired hello. Madison's face lit up, "I dare you to kiss David."

"What?" David asked.

"No." Elliott said adamantly, "He has a girlfriend."

"David, do you have a girlfriend?" Madison asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Not anymore." David said with a laugh, "Are you guys playing truth or dare?"

"Yep." Madison said, "And little Elle here has to kiss you. You don't mind, right?"

"Don't drag him into this." Elliott said.

"Oh please, we'll let him play too. He can have your turn after you go to bed." Madison said sweetly, David smirking at the offer.

"Elle, just do it. It's fine." David said.

"I'm sure it is. Go for it, brat." Madison sneered, Elliott shooting her a glare, "You have to do it."

"Or what? You'll make me?" Elliott sneered back, rolling her eyes, "Fine." She stood and walked over to David, obviously mad at him for going along with the whole thing, "Ok you're going to have to lean down. You're like a foot taller than me." David laughed but leaned down, obviously amused that Elliott was so uncomfortable.

"And it can't be a little peck either." Madison sneered, Elliott letting out another huff.

"I hate you for this." Elliott said, staring David down before she leaned in to kiss him. It was a lot easier than she thought it would be, and she found she actually kind of liked it. David seemed to be into it too, his mouth reciprocating and even making the kiss deepen. Elliott had to actually convince herself to pull back, once she realized the kiss was going farther than the actual dare. She pulled away, obviously startled, before righting herself and turning to Madison, "There. Now goodnight."

"Good luck convincing us you don't love him now!" Madison yelled after her, the rest of the girls throwing her unimpressed looks, "What?"

"I think it's my turn now." David said, smirking at Madison, "Madison, truth or dare?"

"Dare bitch, and make it good." Madison sneered back, practically fucking him with her eyes.

"I dare you to kiss Queenie." He said simply, knowing both of them would absolutely hate it. It was him getting revenge for Elliott, since Madison liked to make her so uncomfortable.

Madison smirked at him, then crawled across the floor to Queenie, pulling her into a gross makeout session that was mostly Madison's tongue, then pulling back, "If you want to see anymore you'll have to pay me."

"Alright, I think it's time to call it a night." Cordelia slurred, standing and practically falling down after finishing that bottle of tequila.

"Uh, yea. Imma get her ta bed." Misty said, still very intoxicated herself. With her low tolerance, her and Cordelia were at about the same level of drunkenness, only Misty seemed to be more steady on her feet.

"I bet you are." Madison said, throwing Misty a dirty smirk, "Have fun."

Misty rolled her eyes then helped Cordelia to her room, the supreme stumbling around as she searched for pajamas. She quickly stripped, Misty turning away in order to give her some semblance of privacy. "Well aren't you the cutest thing." Cordelia said, smiling at the witch as she pulled a nightgown over her head, "You didn't have to turn around."

"I should get goin'." Misty said, stumbling towards the door, only for Cordelia to walk up behind her and turn the younger witch around.

"Or you could stay." She said, smiling at the witch as Misty gasped.

Misty felt like fire was dancing across her skin, Cordelia looking so unbelievably cute and hot at the same time not helping matters at all. Cordelia smirked back at her, knowing exactly what effect she was having on the younger witch, and Misty didn't hesitate to kiss her, it quickly heating up to full on makeout. The two were frenzied, and soon Misty was pushing Cordelia back towards the bed, one hand snaking its way down to the hem of Cordelia's nightgown, pulling it up and over her head. It felt right, so right until Cordelia pushed on Misty's chest, breaking the kiss. "We can't do this, not now." Cordelia said, thinking back on how Misty had reveled she was a virgin.

"But I want ta." Misty said, her pupils blown.

"I know, I do too. But not now, not like this." Cordelia said, finally getting a semblance of rational thought, "You have to be sober."

Misty stepped back, nodding, "I'm sorry. You're right. I should go back ta my room."

Cordelia shook her head and pulled the witch back, "No, Mist. I want you here, we just can't do  _that_  tonight." Misty nodded, walking back to the supreme as the older woman smirked, "The morning however…"

Misty smirked back at the witch, catching the suggestive tone, "Well then I guess we better sleep this off."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no, I won't be writing smut in this story. I don't think I would be very good at it, but maybe if enough of yall want it I might give it a shot. Who knows.


	49. Chapter 49

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, sorry for the break. I've been swamped with school and I really haven't had much time to write, or the motivation to write. I hope this long chapter makes up for it, thank for sticking with me!

The next morning, Elliott was woken up by the sun streaming through her curtains, rolling over to check her phone and seeing she had slept through her alarm, not that it mattered much since there was no school. As she sat up in bed and stretched, she noticed her roommates bed was made, which was unusual considering the swamp witch normally didn't make her bed until the evening. It was mostly to minimize the noise, since Misty was always the first one up and as Coco put it, Elliott was the lightest sleeper like  _ever_. The young witch hopped out of bed and made her way down to the kitchen still in her pajamas, and passed by Cordelia's open office door, which was also unusual this late in the morning, but then again, the supreme did do something vastly out of character the night previous.

Elliott was greeted by Queenie, Zoe and Madison in the kitchen, offering them a good morning as she poured her coffee, then heading to sit with the witches at the table. "You drink your coffee black?" Queenie asked, Elliott nodding in return, "Damn, that's some nasty shit."

"I'm used to it." Elliott said with a shrug, "An old foster parent would only let me drink coffee if it was black. He thought it would keep me from drinking it but by the end of it I was drinking more coffee than him."

"So how does it feel to have your own room back?" Madison asked, Elliott looking back at her confused, "You know Misty went to bed with your mom last night, right?"

"Ok, and?" Elliott asked, "They're adults Maddie."

"So you're perfectly fine knowing they're banging it out?" Madison sneered, Elliott rolling her eyes.

"Despite what you think, I'm not an immature child. I know people have sex." Elliott said pointedly, "At least I don't have to worry about one of them getting pregnant." Elliott watched Madison's subtle change in her facial expression, her eyes darting around like she was hiding something. Elliott had learned very quickly in the foster system how to read people, mostly so she could sense a blowup before it happened and get the hell out of dodge, but it also came in handy in a house full of women who hid their problems. Elliott threw Madison a questioning glance, but continued to talk with Queenie and Zoe for a few minutes until they left to head into town. "Ok, what's up?" Elliott asked after the women had left the house, Madison averting her gaze.

"Nothing." Madison said, Elliott throwing her a look.

"Bitch, you aren't fooling anyone. I know something is wrong, so what is it?" Elliott said, staring the girl down.

Madison glanced at Elliott and rolled her eyes, letting out a dramatic sigh as she shifted in her seat, "Fine, but just because you are an annoying ass, nosey bitch. My period is late."

Elliott paused for a second, shocked her prying actually worked, "How late?" Madison threw her a glare, "You can cut the bitchy attitude, Maddie. How late?"

Madison's stare softened, "A week. I didn't even fucking realize it until the stupid app sent me a notification."

"Have you taken a test?" Elliott asked, more concerned now than anything else.

"I don't even know where the fuck to find a test." Madison said, Elliott letting out a laugh.

"How do you not know? They're usually right next to the condoms." Elliott said.

"Well obviously I don't use those or we wouldn't be where we are right now then would we?" Madison sneered.

Elliott rolled her eyes and bit her lip, debating with herself for a moment before she let out a sigh, "Come with me."

"Where are we going?" Madison asked, following Elliott up the stairs.

"Would you be quiet? You're going to wake everyone up." Elliott said seriously, her eyes darting to Cordelia's door for a moment before she led Madison into her room, opening up her backpack and digging to the bottom before handing a pregnancy test to the movie star, "Just take it and don't ask any questions."

"I wasn't going to." Madison said, glancing up at the girl, "I already knew." Elliott stood frozen, so Madison continued, "I've known since you had that nightmare at the hotel, you didn't need to tell me. Why do you think I wasn't grilling you about your virginity last night?"

"How the fuck did you know?" Elliott asked, her eyes panicked.

"Because I was the same way after mine happened." Madison said quietly, Elliott nodding slightly.

"Cordelia can't know." Elliott said softly, Madison nodding back at her.

"I know, I'm not stupid." Madison said, rolling her eyes.

Elliott let out a small laugh, breaking the tension, "Just making sure. Now go take it before people start looking for us."

Madison rolled her eyes but complied, heading off towards the bathroom as Elliott shifted from one foot to the other. It wasn't like this was her first time dealing with something like this. There were many times before the coven, usually with Sarah. Much to Grace's disbelief, Sarah wasn't the angel everyone thought she was. Her father's arrest had left her with some serious daddy issues, and when she wasn't sneaking around going to crazy, drug fueled parties, she was having some questionable relationships with much older men. Grace refused to let her go on birth control, and Elliott ended up being the person who waited with Sarah in the clinic each time the test came back positive. It was weird to think about it all, especially considering Sarah and Elliott had barely seen or talked to each other in the past couple of months, they both were just too busy.

Madison wandered back to the doorframe a few minutes later with a relieved look on her face, "False alarm."

"Oh thank god." Elliott sighed, chuckling a little, "You would have been a fucking nightmare if you were knocked up."

"What, you aren't ready to be a godparent yet?" Madison snarked, Elliott looking back at her like she was insane. Madison just smirked, her eyes going soft for a second. "I wasn't kidding when I said you were my new best friend." She said, rolling her eyes at Elliott's shocked face as she pushed away from the door and headed towards the stairs, "Now fucking get ready. You look like a gremlin and your boy toy is going to be here in like four hours!"

"Fuck off." Elliott snarked, rolling her eyes as she reached for the towel on her dresser, then heading off towards the bathroom.

As Elliott went to get in the shower, Misty and Cordelia laid in bed, only a sheet covering their naked bodies. Cordelia laid on her stomach and stared at the witch facing her as Misty mindlessly danced her fingertips along the supreme's exposed spine. She felt the swamp witch snake her fingers up in down in a pattern Cordelia couldn't quite place. It wasn't until she felt Misty swirl her fingers a few times before the older woman was able to figure out that she was drawing roses, and she smiled softly as she reached her head up to place a kiss on Misty's slightly damp shoulder. Misty didn't seem to notice, too focused on the skin where her fingers laid, sucking in her bottom lip slightly as she worked, and Cordelia wished for a moment that she could see the work of art Misty was creating in invisible ink.

It was a moment Cordelia wished she could bottle up and keep in her pocket, the warmth she felt when she stared at Misty's soft blue eyes and the blush on her cheeks. Cordelia could only describe the witch as ethereal, the way the light streaming through the window congregated in a halo of messy curls around the crown of the Cajun's head, her sweaty skin reflecting the golden rays. She was a sight Cordelia wanted to see every morning, and the witch tried to memorize the kinks in Misty's hair and each and every freckle that speckled the swamp witches nose, just in case this was the only time she would ever see it. Cordelia had never felt like this when she had been with Hank, with him the sex was always just sex. But with Misty, Cordelia wasn't even sure she could call it sex, not when it was so much  _more_. Cordelia had never felt this loved and worshipped in her life, and for a split second nothing existed outside of that bedroom.

"We make a great team." Misty finally whispered, drawing Cordelia out of her musings and causing the older witch to furrow her brow slightly, her lips carrying the ghost of a question, "When we were workin' in the greenhouse, before everythin', ya said we make a great team."

Cordelia's lips quirked into a small, amused smile as she stared at the wild haired blonde adoringly, "We do."

"I think so." Misty said sweetly, throwing Cordelia a grin so wide it just made the supreme laugh.

Cordelia glanced over at the clock, noticing the time and effectively breaking her love induced haze, "We should get up."

"Darlin', I don't ever wanna leave this bed." Misty sighed, flopping on her back as Cordelia giggled at her and pulled herself up to rest on her elbows.

"I know, but we need to get up before Elliott so I don't emotionally scar her." Cordelia laughed, Misty rolling over slightly and throwing the woman a look.

"She's already up. Ya didn't hear her tellin' Maddie ta fuck off earlier?" Misty asked, smirking when Cordelia looked unimpressed at Elliott's language, "I don't understand their relationship at all. All they do is bicker but they are together all the damn time. If I was Elle I woulda snapped Hollywood's neck by now."

"I don't get it either. Last week they almost got into a fist fight, I had to get in between them to break it up, then an hour later they were going out for food. They act more like sisters than friends." Cordelia said, Misty letting out a chuckle.

"Well ya did want the girls ta be close." She said, Cordelia laughing for a moment before letting out a groan, "What?"

"I forgot Madison stayed here last night." Cordelia said, throwing Misty a knowing look. There was no way Madison wasn't going to make a whole host of snarky comments about the two of them.

"I have no problem beatin' her ass again." Misty said with a smirk, Cordelia grinning back at her.

The supreme closed her eyes and laid back down lazily, now that there was no reason to not stay in bed, as the smell of baking cinnamon rolls wafted into the room, a pre-thanksgiving tradition the girls had done for years. Misty perked up at the smell, her stomach rumbling as she quickly rose from the bed, pulling the entire sheet off Cordelia as she caught her foot in it and stumbled. "I thought you didn't want to get out of bed?" Cordelia asked as she raised her head, a smirk on her face.

"That was before there was cinnamon rolls." Misty said seriously, tugging her dress over her head and foregoing the other garments that littered the floor.

"I'm in love with an actual child." Cordelia laughed, Misty throwing her a look as she practically sprinted to the bed, dropping a kiss on Cordelia's forehead before running towards the door.

"Get ya cute butt dressed and come down." Misty said as she whipped open the door and all but slammed it shut behind her, Cordelia shaking her head as she flopped back down on the bed.

When Cordelia wandered down a half hour later, Misty was already in the midst of shoving four cinnamon rolls into her mouth, the supreme shaking her head as she let out a small laugh. There really was nothing Misty loved more than food. The supreme grabbed a cinnamon roll of her own and a cup of coffee before leaning up against the counter, watching a very hungover Mallory bicker with Madison over which Hemsworth brother was hotter. They tried to get Misty to pick a side, but she had no idea who they were even talking about, and Cordelia didn't really like either of them, so when Elliott managed to wander down, the girls immediately jumped on her. "Elliott!" Mallory yelled, starling the girl, "Which Hemsworth brother is hotter? We need a tie breaker."

"Easy, Liam." Elliott said dismissively, Mallory jumping up in her chair as Madison rolled her eyes.

"I always knew you were lame. Didn't I tell you to get ready? You look like a drowned rat." Madison sneered, Elliott rolling her eyes.

"They aren't coming; their flight was cancelled. Apparently there's some big storm about to hit us?" Elliott said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Oh," Cordelia said, slightly concerned, "The hurricane must have shifted."

"That explains why Coco came back instead of going to see her family." Mallory said.

"Well I'm sorry your friends couldn't make it." Cordelia said empathetically, Elliott shrugging.

"It's fine, they're going to do a friendsgiving at the hotel they booked and I told them I would facetime them later." Elliott said, "No big deal."

"So that means there's ten of us, right?" Cordelia asked, "David's girlfriend isn't coming?"

"I don't know." Elliott said, "I have no idea what's going on with him, they were together earlier yesterday and then they weren't."

"Well if he's single then that means I can shamelessly flirt with him again." Madison said, "Not that his girlfriend would stop me." Elliott shot her a look before rolling her eyes, "What? Dudes fucking hot."

"He's not going to date you, Madison." Elliott fired back.

"I never said I was going to date him, brat. I just want to fuck him." Madison sneered, "Don't tell me he's off limits now because you finally realized you are in love with him."

"I'm not in love with him." Elliott snarked.

"That kiss last night begs to differ." Madison said sarcastically as Mallory's jaw dropped.

"You kissed David?" She practically yelled, the excitement clear on her face.

"Madison dared me to. It was nothing." Elliott said dismissively as Mallory's face fell.

"That wasn't nothing. They were practically making out." Madison argued as Elliott shot her a glare, "Ooo. I bet that's why he's single. Little Elle is causing trouble."

"They broke up before that, remember?" Elliott said, Madison rolling her eyes.

"And? You are literally all he talks about. If I was his girlfriend, I would get pissed too. Just because you two are in denial doesn't mean it isn't happening." Madison sneered.

"Whatever, Maddie. You are delusional." Elliott said, and Cordelia could tell the conversation was starting to get to her.

Madison moved to say something else sarcastic, but the supreme was quick to intervene with a stern, "Madison…"

Madison scoffed, "What? At least I'm not making digs about you taking swamp rats virginity. Not my fault your kid is in a mood today."

"I'm not in a mood you are just fucking annoying." Elliott bit back, feeling everyone snap their gaze towards her. Normally Cordelia would have called her out for her language, but she was probably too stunned to. She quickly muttered something about having to get ready for the day before she headed back up to her room, sitting cross legged on her bed as she opened up her laptop and worked on editing some pictures she had taken in the past few weeks.

Cordelia knocked on her door an hour later before pushing it open and peeking her head in, seeing Elliott on the bed still in the exact same clothes she was supposed to change out of. "I thought you were going to get ready?" The supreme teased.

"I got distracted." Elliott said, knowing it was a half assed lie and her mother would never buy it.

Cordelia threw her a knowing smirk before letting out a small laugh, "I don't blame you. I would want to get away from Madison too." Elliott chuckled a bit and the older witch moved to go sit on her daughter's bed, quickly running her fingers through Elliott's still damp hair. "Are you feeling ok?" she asked, slightly concerned that the girl's outburst was a result of her still healing concussion.

Elliott caught on to the implication immediately, shaking her head, "Yea, I'm fine. It's not that."

Cordelia didn't seem fully convinced, knowing Elliott liked to hide things in order to not cause more stress. "You would tell me if it was though?" She asked, Elliott nodding back at her, "Then what's going on, babe? There's obviously something bothering you."

Elliott pulled a face, "I don't really want to talk about it. It's fine, just normal stuff."

Cordelia threw her a look, "Is it about David?" Elliott let out a sigh but nodded slightly, "Did something happen?"

"We had a fight, or kind of a fight I guess…" Elliott stammered, obviously feeling like her frustration was silly, "He got mad at me because Trevor was coming for Thanksgiving. He kept saying I shouldn't have a boyfriend right now, which he's not even my boyfriend, and I get that he's just being protective or whatever, but then he and his girlfriend broke up and with the kiss and everything and the timing of it all it just makes me uncomfortable I guess. I didn't even really think about it until Maddie started saying it was because of me."

Cordelia tried her hardest to keep the smile off her face, but she couldn't help it, this was all so  _normal_. She knew she really shouldn't be this excited about her daughter's outburst, but this was the first time Elliott had actually shown a reaction to something that regular teenagers dealt with on a daily basis. It showed Cordelia that the girls mindset was starting to shift and she was actually settling in, her thoughts no longer dominated by the much bigger issues she had been facing previously.

Elliott saw the smile on her mother's face and blushed, reaffirming her feelings that the entire thing was stupid. "This isn't funny." She said, Cordelia breaking out into light giggles.

"Baby, he's jealous." Cordelia laughed, Elliott throwing her a doubtful look, "He is, but their breakup has nothing to do with you. I don't think they broke up because of you."

"His girlfriend hates me." Elliott said seriously.

"Who could hate you?" Cordelia said sweetly, tucking a piece of hair behind Elliott's ear as the supreme smiled at her.

"Someone who doesn't like that their boyfriend's best friend is another girl." Elliott said.

"Well regardless, their breakup is in no way your fault. You haven't done anything wrong, they need to figure it out for themselves." Cordelia said seriously.

"I know, but then Maddie dared me to kiss him which is going to be a huge problem if they do end up making up." Elliott argued.

Cordelia smiled at the girl, "You worry too much."

Elliott rolled her eyes dramatically, "So I've been told."

"Whatcha' working on?" Cordelia asked, shifting closer to Elliott's open laptop screen, her curiosity peaking when Elliott quickly moved to close the screen so it was out of the supreme's view.

"Nothing." She said, Cordelia throwing her a teasing look.

"Oh come on, don't get shy now." Cordelia teased, nudging Elliott's shoulder.

"I can't show you, it's a surprise." Elliott said, placing her palm over the closed laptop just in case Cordelia tried to jerk it open.

"Well I hate surprises, so show me." Cordelia tried again, Elliott shaking her head.

"No, I won't." Elliott said seriously, throwing the woman a look.

Cordelia eyed the girl carefully before smirking, "You do know I can take your laptop from you, right?"

Elliott threw her mother an unimpressed stare, "If you make me show you this I will pout and make your life a living hell, and you're stuck with me now, so I would choose wisely."

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Why can't I see it?" She whined, making Elliott giggle a bit.

"Because it would ruin the surprise, duh." She joked, Cordelia letting out a huff.

"Fine. When can I see it then?" The supreme asked.

"Whenever I decide it's time." Elliott said seriously.

"I'm going to sneak in here and look at it now." Cordelia teased, Elliott throwing a smirk back at her.

"Good luck. I put a password on it." She responded, Cordelia pretending to be offended.

"What? You don't trust me?" The mother asked incredulously.

Elliott let out a laugh, "Mama, you literally just told me you were going to take my laptop or sneak in here and look at it."

"That's just because you are being sneaky. Who knows what you are up to." Cordelia said, trying to act serious.

"So then it's YOU who doesn't trust ME." Elliott fired back, a smirk on her lips.

Cordelia scoffed, "You did not just turn this back around on me."

"I believe I did." Elliott said, grinning widely.

Cordelia rolled her eyes playfully, "Fine, you get out of it this time. But that's only because I have work to do before the storm comes in and I need to get it done in case the power goes out."

"Workaholic." Elliott teased, Cordelia pinching the girl's sides and making her squeal before kissing Elliott's cheek and heading to her office. "Everyone in this house is insane." Elliott muttered to herself.

Cordelia worked for a few hours until she saw the clouds turn dark gray, closing her laptop and heading for the greenhouse, knowing Misty would absolutely be taking up residence there. She carefully eyed the sky as she watched the trees surrounding the house bend to the winds will, letting the woman know the incoming storm would be brutal. She looked concerned for a moment as she wandered toward the greenhouse, but that quickly dissipated into a small smile when she heard Elliott giggling from inside, walking to the doorframe and spotting the girl sitting on a table, Max begging at her feet while Misty glanced over at them and smiled. Misty spotted the supreme and Cordelia's heart swelled as she watched the swamp witch's eyes light up. "The storm is rolling in; you both should get inside." She said, Elliott and Misty immediately pouting at her, which just made her laugh as she shook her head, "Fine, but if you get wet it's not my problem."

"Stay with us!" Elliott yelled, a grin on her face.

Cordelia shook her head once again, "I have work to do."

"You can do it later." Elliott said, her eyes pleading, "Please?"

Cordelia glanced at the threatening clouds and stepped further into the greenhouse, looking back at her daughter's hopeful face and breaking immediately. If there was anyone she would want to be stranded in a storm with, it was them. She rolled her eyes playfully but nodded as she walked toward her daughter, laughing softly when Elliott's face broke out into a wide smile. Cordelia took Elliott's head in her hands and pressed a long kiss into her hair, "Fine, for a few minutes. I told Madison I would make something for her migraine anyways."

The supreme moved around the greenhouse quickly, gathering the proper ingredients from the various jars, Elliott's eyes following her intensely. She had heard whispers from the older girls about Cordelia's potions skills, but she had never seen them for herself, and it was fascinating to see her mother so in her element. "Shit." Cordelia muttered, staring into an empty jar, "I don't have peonies."

"Hm?" Elliott asked.

Cordelia turned to explain, "I need peonies for the potion. They bloom in spring, and normally I dry enough to last me through the year, but I forgot to do it this year. Damnit."

Elliott nodded then paused for a moment, "Do they need to be dried?"

"No, they don't." Cordelia said offhandedly, thinking Elliott was just trying to learn a bit about potions. She continued to work, gathering a different set of ingredients for a potion that would be less effective than the one she wanted to make, until Misty walked over to her and nudged her, the older witch looking up and following Misty's stare until she spotted Elliott standing over by the peony plant, focusing on it for a second before the plant suddenly bloomed.

Misty and Cordelia stared in shock for a moment as Elliott reached and grabbed a few petals, pausing again as the plant shifted back to its normal, unbloomed state. Elliott wandered back over to the women and dropped the petals by Cordelia's still hands, glancing up and seeing the stunned faces staring back at her. "What?" She asked.

"What did ya just do?" Misty asked, amazed, "That was incredible."

Elliott stared back at her, a little confused, "What? You bring plants back all the time."

"That wasn't what that was. I've never seen that before." Cordelia said, Elliott glancing over to her and shrugging, not understanding what the big deal was. Cordelia knew that what Elliott did wasn't resurgence at all, she accelerated the plants life cycle, then rewound it. It was the manipulation of time, and although Cordelia was impressed and very proud, it also scared her a bit, knowing what she knew.

Elliott didn't seem at all phased, retaking her seat on the table as the rain started falling outside, quickly growing from a slight drizzle to a torrential downpour, pounding against the glass ceiling of the greenhouse. "See?" Cordelia said with a sigh, "I told we should have gone in, now we're stuck out here."

Misty smirked at the older woman, flicking her gaze back and forth between Cordelia and Elliott, "That doesn't sound like a bad time ta me."

Elliott grinned, "Me either."

Cordelia playfully rolled her eyes, but truth be told she didn't mind it either. The more she worked the more she realized she had missed those nights in the greenhouse, surrounded by plants and her copious spell books. It was her own form of therapy, working tirelessly for hours on end on new potions and perfecting their recipes, there always had been something soothing about it. Now she had a million things to do and not enough hours in the day, and each time she would think to take a break she couldn't bring herself to do it, she just always felt like there was more productive things she could be doing.

But now, she had an excuse. After all, how could she say no to her sweet baby girl? It wasn't like Elliott asked the supreme to abandon her work very often, besides when the girl knew Cordelia needed a break and wouldn't take one. This really was the first time Elliott had asked for  _her_ , and Cordelia was more than happy to wait out the eye of the storm with her favorite girls.

The three of them worked consistently for the next hour, Cordelia on her potions, Misty on watering and pruning the plants, and Elliott on an incantation she had been struggling with for weeks. In her defense, it was a very advanced protection spell, so advanced even Cordelia hadn't been able to perform it correctly until she had been crowned supreme. "Stronger intent, baby." Cordelia said softly after yet another failed attempt, smirking at the girl.

"It shouldn't be this difficult to put a protection spell on a  _dog_." Elliott groaned as Cordelia chuckled.

"Did you ever consider that's why you can't do it? Max doesn't need protection and you know it. That spell is for life or death circumstances, that's why it's so hard to do. It's a particular type of force you can't access in everyday life, and certainly not with a spoiled rotten dog." Cordelia laughed, "Give it a rest, kiddo. You're wearing yourself out."

"Max wouldn't be spoiled if you didn't sneak him treats behind my back." Elliott shot back playfully, "He just looks at you and you cave."

"Hey, he earned those treats." Cordelia said seriously, "That is the smartest dog I have ever met. I'm surprised he hasn't started speaking yet."

"What makes you think he hasn't?" Elliott said teasingly, turning to the dog, "Max, speak." Max barked instantly, Cordelia rolling her eyes as she laughed.

"Is there anything you didn't teach him to do?" She asked, Elliott rapidly shaking her head.

"No, not really. That's just the basic command, he practically has conversations with me when there isn't an audience." Elliott said smiling before refocusing on the incantation in front of her.

"Elle, I told you to give it a rest." Cordelia said, worrying Elliott was pushing herself too hard.

"I just did." Elliott said seriously, Cordelia throwing her a look, "I just want to try it a few more times, then I'll stop." Really, it was Cordelia's comments that had given her an idea. She was right, it wasn't going to work on a dog, but it might work on someone else, someone she really cared about. Cordelia just shook her head at the girl's stubbornness before refocusing on her work, not paying attention to the sudden intensity of the energy in the room as the young girl focused.

Elliott knew the feeling she had to evoke, the utter desperation needed to cast the spell, and she honed in on it, replaying the dream she had a few weeks back about the witch hunters until it was all she could focus on. She felt her anxiety gaining speed, ticking up and up until her heart was racing, her eyes shut tight in concentration. Misty stopped her work at the abrupt change in energy, staring at Elliott and seeing the determination and concentration on her features. Elliott didn't even open her eyes to read the incantation, she had done it so many times the foreign words were ingrained into her memory, muttering the words with all the intention she could possibly muster.

"Uh, Dee?" Misty said hesitantly as the supreme became the new focus of her interest.

"Hmm?" Cordelia asked, not even bothering to look up.

"You're glowing." Misty said seriously as Cordelia's eyebrows creased, before catching sight of her arms and hands, which were quite literally glowing like a string of Christmas lights, emitting a soft yellow haze.

The supreme snapped her gaze up to look at Misty, utterly confused before her face turned to one of shock, "You are too."

Misty quickly glanced down at her own body in shock before both the women set their sights on Elliott, who was still muttering the words. Cordelia was stunned, she herself had only performed it once, and she had only been able to do it on a single girl, Mallory. She had done it when she had the first idea that Mallory would be the next supreme, back before Elliott had even been brought to the coven. She knew there was a physical sign that the spell was working, but she had never seen it for herself, you had to be laser focused for the spell to work, much like Elliott was at this very moment.

As Elliott finished the incantation the glow faded, opening her eyes to see the two women staring at her. "What?" She asked, flicking her gaze between the two of them, oblivious to the fact that she had basically just performed a miracle.

"How did ya do that?" Misty asked, Cordelia obviously at a loss of words.

"Stronger intent." Elliott said, finally realizing the spell obviously worked, a small smile gracing her lips.

Tears filled Cordelia's eyes as she broke out in the biggest smile. She quickly moved over to Elliott and pulled her into a tight, long hug, dropping a kiss into her hair as the tears fell from her eyes. That spell was hard to do even when you were in a dire situation, to be able to pull it off on a normal day was incredible and just showed the amount of love she had for the other two women. It was a spell that required you to be completely selfless, to care about the other person more than you cared about yourself, a complete surrender to the worlds forces. It wasn't enough to just care about the other person, you had to  _love_  them, truly love them. "I'm assuming it worked?" Elliott chuckled as Cordelia finally pulled back.

"It worked, we were glowin' like a damn lightbulb." Misty said, Elliott flicking her gaze back to the swamp witch then back at her mother.

"Wait, it worked on both of you?" Elliott asked excitedly, Cordelia nodding.

"I don't know how you did it, but you did it." She said, Elliott beaming. "We didn't say you could try it on us." Cordelia teased.

"Well you said it wouldn't work on the dog." Elliott teased back.

"I wanna test it out, come on!" Misty yelled excitedly, running over to Elliott and grabbing her hand, pulling her off the table and towards the door.

"Wait, what?" Elliott asked as she was pulled into the storm, Misty quickly pulling her to the center of the yard and spinning her around, causing the girl to shriek before bursting into giggles.

Cordelia walked quickly to the door, "Misty! Elliott! That is a  _hurricane_! Get back here!" She glanced up at the sky and at the tree line, waiting for a bolt of lightning or a strong gust of wind, but it never came, the storm had quieted down the moment they stepped outside. The two girls just laughed at her, jumping in the wet grass and pools of water, before Misty spun Elliott so fast she slipped and fell right on her butt, Max quickly running past Cordelia's legs and into the rain, running up to Elliott and licking her face. The older woman shook her head disapprovingly, but chuckled slightly at their childish antics. They never failed to surprise her.

After the two witches were absolutely drenched, Elliott set her sights on her mother, smirking as she motioned her forward. "No," Cordelia said, shaking her head furiously, "Absolutely not."

Elliott smiled and walked towards the woman, knowing she absolutely was going to get her to cave. "Come on, mama."

"No. It's  _freezing_  out there." Cordelia said seriously, Elliott smirking.

"Is that the best excuse you got?" She asked, Cordelia throwing her a look.

"This shirt is dry clean only." She tried again, trying her best to hold firm.

Elliott just stared at her for a moment before she got a teasing look on her face. "Are you going to melt?" She asked, obviously impressed with her witch joke as Cordelia's jaw dropped, letting out a scoff.

"I'm  _not_  going to melt, I'm just not insane." Cordelia said seriously, Elliott's lips curving into a small smile.

"Be insane for a little bit." Elliott borderline whined, grabbing Cordelia's hand with her own cold, wet one, "Don't make me call you uptight."

Cordelia let out a small laugh, "I am  _not_  uptight."

"Then come on, mama." Elliott said, tugging the supreme's hand, "Please?"

Cordelia chuckled slightly as she smiled and Elliott knew she had won. "Are you really going to make me do this?" Cordelia asked teasingly.

"I won't  _make_  you do anything, it's just a lot of fun." Elliott said, Cordelia smiling at her and finally nodding, her smile only growing once Elliott's face lit up, quickly pulling her into the icy rain.

Misty was quick to tap the supreme on the shoulder. "Tag, ya are it!" she yelled before taking off, trying to keep her footing on the slippery grass as she distanced herself from her girlfriend, who stood there stunned for a moment. Elliott had overheard and had also taken off running, and the supreme threw the swamp witch a look before she slipped off her heels and ran after her, feeling her toes squish into the muddy ground.

Misty proved to be too fast for her, and she quickly switched directions, skidding as she did, and ran towards Elliott, who had stopped running long enough to laugh at the scene. "Max!" Elliott yelled, "Get her!" Max immediately ran towards Cordelia, stopping her in her tracks and barking, ready to attack if need be. She tried to go around him, knowing the dog wouldn't actually hurt her, but Max moved with her, blocking her from reaching her daughter.

"That's cheatin'!" Misty yelled, watching the scene as water dripped in her eyes.

"No! It's called being resourceful!" Elliott yelled back, noticing the close proximity between Misty and Cordelia, and motioning to her mother with her eyes.

Cordelia caught her gaze and smirked, quickly whipping around and running full force at Misty, who was not at all prepared, and slamming into her, effectively knocking them both to the ground. "You're it." Cordelia giggled, leaning forward to press a kiss to Misty's lips.

"Now  _that_ was cliché." Misty said once the two pulled apart, Cordelia grinning from ear to ear. The two were quickly interrupted by Max, who bolted over to them and started licking their faces, "Max, get outta here!"

The two women headed for the house to take shelter, but Elliott continued to run around with Max. "Elle, come on!" Cordelia yelled, watching as lightning began to dance across the sky. It didn't seem to faze Elliott, she just kept chasing after the dog, slipping several times. "She's going to be the death of me." Cordelia muttered as Misty grinned over at her. Cordelia called for the girl another four times as the lightning bolts got more frequent, but Elliott continued to run around, only stopping when there was a loud crack of thunder, making her jump before scurrying to the house, Max in tow.

The three women changed out of their soaked clothes and into pajamas, huddling under a heap of blankets on the couch as they debated what movie to watch. Even though Elliott was shivering, she still was smiling from ear to ear, which was almost enough to make Cordelia forget that she was basically a human ice cube. "How are you so smiley? I'm  _freezing_." She said as her teeth chattered.

Elliott shrugged, "I like being cold."

"What kinda person  _likes_  bein' cold?" Misty asked, burrowing further under the blankets.

"The kind that hates being hot. You can fix being cold with blankets and warm stuff, if you are hot you're fucked." Elliott responded, chuckling.

"Language, missy." Cordelia said, Elliott shooting her a look.

"Well if ya are hot ya can just take ya clothes off." Misty teased, subtly trailing her fingers up the inside of Cordelia's thigh. The supreme played it cool, for Elliott's sake, but Misty could feel the woman tense underneath her, getting the exact reaction she was hoping for.

"I'm pretty sure getting naked in public is considered a crime." Elliott shot back sarcastically, and Cordelia was grateful she didn't seem to catch onto the innuendo, although knowing her she probably did and was just ignoring it.

Cordelia briefly excused herself to check on the girls, and when she returned she found her two girls had moved onto more interesting activities, although the mess they were causing made the witch groan. Cordelia watched for a moment as Misty picked up a piece of popcorn from an overflowing bowl, throwing it as Elliott tried to catch it in her mouth. The two weren't very good, however, and every piece the swamp witch threw was ending up on the couch or the floor, never actually making it into Elliott's mouth. "I see you two are making a mess of my couch." Cordelia teased as she walked back towards them and resumed her position between them, grimacing when she felt the kernels crunch underneath her.

"We wouldn't be if  _someone_  knew how to throw." Elliott said sarcastically, dramatically rolling her eyes as Misty scoffed.

"I think it's ya who doesn't know how ta catch." Misty teased back.

"It's not me who's the issue here. You keep throwing it over my head." Elliott shot back, Cordelia letting out a laugh at the banter.

"Here, Dee. Catch." Misty said, the supreme turning to face her and quickly getting a kernel of popcorn thrown at her face. She easily caught it, grinning as she chewed. "She did it, so maybe I'm not the problem." Misty teased, Elliott rolling her eyes as Cordelia pressed a hard kiss to her cheek.

"So did you two decide on a movie?" Cordelia asked, both girls shaking their heads.

"Little miss here still is pushin' for Shrek." Misty said knowingly, Cordelia groaning.

"Hey, Shrek is a classic!" Elliott said adamantly.

"In what world?" Cordelia teased, her face doubtful.

"Mine." Elliott said seriously, making the two women laugh.

"You have questionable taste in movies, darlin'." Misty said, Elliott rolling her eyes.

"I have excellent taste in movies. It's not my fault you two are boring." Elliott shot back, making Cordelia gasp.

"Says the girl who reads all day and refuses ta leave the house." Misty fired back, Cordelia giggling as Elliott's face grew unimpressed.

"That's it." Elliott said, standing from the couch and moving to the floor, "I'm not going to take this slander."

"No! Baby, come back!" Cordelia whined, reaching for her, "We were just teasing you."

"Well you can continue to tease me from over there." Elliott said, laying on the floor and using Max as a pillow, "I'm staying right here."

The three finally settled on a movie, turning on  _Pulp Fiction_ , and lighting a fire to try and warm up. Cordelia begged Elliott to come back to the couch from time to time, even going as far as to say the girl was crushing Max, which everyone knew was a lie. That dog was as big, if not bigger than her, which was startling considering how small he was when they first found him. Still, the two had a bond Cordelia had never seen before. That dog loved her, more than anyone else in the house, it was rare that he was more than a few feet away from her, and if he could he would always be right on top of her.

Elliott refused to come back, watching the movie for a little while, until the two women on the couch noticed she was fast asleep, along with the dog, who was curled up around her as if his sleeping form would in any way protect her from the dangers of the world. "She can sleep anywhere, I swear." Cordelia joked as she stood to get a glass of wine, Misty chuckling next to her.

"Hey, that's a talent. Even after bein' out at the swamp all that time I still could never get used ta sleepin' out there." Misty joked, Cordelia grabbing her glass and walking back towards the couch, stopping for a moment just to smile at the girl.

The storm outside continued to grow stronger, the rain being pelted against the windows as the lights flickered every so often, and as Cordelia resumed her position on the couch she found herself curling into her girlfriend, she never was really a big fan of storms. "Jeez, can this rain just quit already?" Cordelia asked, her voice quiet as Misty snaked her arms around the woman's waist, letting her lean further into her embrace, "Every time it starts to die down it comes right back."

"My mama used ta say a big storm was god's way of washin' away all the evil in the world." Misty said quietly, causing Cordelia to look up at her, it wasn't often Misty spoke of her parents, or anything about her life before the coven really, "She used ta make me and my brother go out with her and dance in it, just ta make sure we were cleansed. She wanted us ta be as perfect as she thought we were."

"I didn't know you had a brother." Cordelia said softly, tucking a strand of Misty's hair behind her ear.

"Still do, I think. He'd be 18 this year. He was a mama's boy, through and through. Drove my daddy nuts. He was the sweetest thing." Misty said with a sad smile, "After my mama passed, my daddy set his sights on makin' him tough, he wanted him ta be a real man, said he was too soft. He rode his ass day in and day out. I was the one Davis would come ta after daddy gave him a whippin', he didn't have very many friends, it was just me. Then daddy caught Davis doin' somethin' real bad, tried to make him repent in front of the whole church, but he wouldn't do it. He left after that, I never saw him again. Didn't even say goodbye."

"I'm so sorry." Cordelia said quietly, grasping Misty's hand and giving it a squeeze.

"I'm not. It was good that he left, daddy said if he came back they were gonna kill him." Misty said.

"They wouldn't actually…." Cordelia said, Misty just throwing her a look, "That's awful."

Misty shrugged, "It's how they worked. If ya didn't repent ya were as good as dead, when they actually let ya repent. People disappeared all the time, no one ever asked any questions. I'm glad he left, he was dyin' there, we both were."

With that, the lights cut out, startling both women. They snickered at their skittishness before a loud crack of thunder ripped through the academy, Elliott's eyes snapping open to complete darkness as she bolted upright, making the women laugh even harder as Max barked like a mad man. "Well that's one way to wake up." Cordelia teased, Elliott looking over at her and squinting as her eyes tried to adjust to the lack of light.

"Why are you two just sitting in the dark?" She asked, her voice heavy with sleep.

"Power just went out." Misty said, Elliott nodding slightly before thunder boomed once again, making her jump before tensing up. She quickly gathered her blanket off the floor and walked back to the couch, wrapping it around her shoulders as she curled up underneath it.

"You ok?" Cordelia asked, eyeing the girl carefully.

"Yea," Elliott said quietly, "Just tired." Really, she wasn't tired, in fact she was wide awake. She just didn't want to admit that she was scared of something as stupid as thunder. It was childish and she knew it, but it was the one fear she had had since she was little, and no matter what she tried she just couldn't get rid of it. When she became too old to fit under her bed, she would hide in the closet with a flashlight and a book, focusing on the words until either it passed or she fell asleep. Another crack of thunder caused Elliott to jump once again, involuntarily scooching herself closer to her mother's body.

Cordelia picked up on her daughter's fear immediately, Elliott was never really very good at hiding things. The supreme smiled softly, even though she really shouldn't have been smiling at her daughter's overwhelming anxiety. Cordelia also was terrified of thunder when she was a child, and well into her teens. Her mother used to make fun of her relentlessly for it, to the point Cordelia would purposely avoid being at home when she knew there was a big storm coming. It just reminded the woman of how  _little_  Elliott was, despite all of the downright horrible things she had to experience, she still held onto a fear that was so innocent.

Elliott met her mother's gaze briefly and she knew she was caught, immediately shifting her gaze downwards as she felt her cheeks catch fire. She waited for the supreme to tease her, but it never came. Instead, Cordelia lifted herself out of Misty's embrace and pulled her daughter towards her, winding her arms around the girl and pressing a kiss into her hair. "Aw, come here baby. It's ok." She whispered, "I was scared of thunder too when I was your age."

She felt Elliott's body relax into her, the girl letting out a slight chuckle. "It's stupid." Elliott laughed softly.

"It's not stupid." Cordelia said seriously, Elliott glancing up at her, "It's not."

"Yes it is, if anything I should be scared of lightning, that's the one that can actually kill you." Elliott shot back.

"Misty said she was told a big storm was god's way of washing away the evil of the world." Cordelia said, trying to lessen her daughter's fear in any way she could.

"Well he's doing a shitty job if you ask me." Elliott huffed, burrowing further under the blankets as the other two women chuckled.

"Yo, what the fuck is up?" Madison yelled from upstairs, "We can't see shit. I know Cordi is used to the world being fucking dark but we sure as hell aren't."

Misty and Elliott chuckled as Cordelia let out a groan, untangling herself from Elliott's form, "I guess I should go find the flashlights before they kill each other."

Cordelia first handed a flashlight to Misty before heading up the stairs, Madison still bitching as she did. Misty quickly switched on the flashlight and held it under her chin as if she was about to tell a ghost story, "Hey Elle, wanna help me with somethin'?"

By the time Cordelia had made it to Mallory's room Madison and Queenie were already arguing, and for the life of her she couldn't break it up. The fight almost completely distracted the supreme from the loud scrapes coming from downstairs, almost. She furrowed her brow and quickly moved to end the argument so she could figure out exactly what her girls were doing below, "Queenie, just apologize to Madison for saying she was a bad actress and let's get this over with."

"Over my dead body. I meant it, she's fucking terrible. You know this bitch made us sit through three of her shit ass movies? Thank god the power went out before we had to see her porn debut." Queenie scoffed.

"I told you, it was a fucking independent film, and you wish you could get your rocks off to me." Madison snarled, "I got to go to sundance, which is more than you'll ever get to do."

"Do you want to die tonight?" Queenie fired back, stepping dangerously close to Madison's face.

"Girls!" Cordelia barked, both girls snapping their gaze to the woman, "I'm not dealing with this anymore. If you two can't get along then go to your rooms and go to sleep."

"We don't even live here." Madison shot back, challenging the supreme.

"Even better, you can leave if you want." Cordelia said, Madison rolling her eyes, "Shall I call you a car?"

"No, I'm going the fuck to sleep." Madison snarled, stomping out of the room.

Cordelia wandered back downstairs, stopping herself midway down the stairs to laugh at what Elliott and Misty did. They apparently had made themselves busy while she was gone constructing a huge blanket fort, which the supreme guessed is what all the noise was about. "What did you two do?" Cordelia teased, walking to the opening of the fort to see the girls huddled inside on the floor, a lit candle in between them.

"What does it look like?" Misty asked, grinning like a kid on Christmas.

"It looks like a fire hazard." Cordelia shot back.

"Nah, we made this thing sturdy." Misty said, gazing up at the roof of the fort.

"There's nothing sturdy about a bunch of blankets hanging over an open flame." Cordelia said seriously, "Give me the candle."

Misty shook her head, "Not our fault ya don't own enough flashlights."

Elliott giggled but followed her mother's request, crawling to the mouth of the fort and carefully handing the woman the candle. Cordelia set the candle down on the table in front of the fort, staring at the girls a moment before laughing. "Alright, well let me in." She said, getting on her knees and moving towards the fort.

Elliott was quick to stop her, holding out her hand, "What's the password?" Cordelia threw the girl a look and tried to crawl past her, but Elliott had a trick up her sleeve, literally stopping the woman in her tracks. "Nuh uh." Elliott said, "What's the password?"

Cordelia glanced at the girl with her mouth hanging open, stunned Elliott would use her powers on her. "Really?" She asked, "I'm your mother." Elliott just stared at her, not breaking the bonds she held her with, and with a sigh Cordelia tried to guess what the password might be. "I don't know, password?" She finally said with a sigh, Elliott smirking back at her.

"No, it was actually iridium. But I'll let you in, just because I like you." Elliott said, finally letting the woman go and crawling back in herself. Once the supreme had sat down, she immediately started assaulting Elliott with tickles, refusing to let up even when the girl screamed. "Knock it off!" Elliott yelled, swatting at the woman's hands.

"You used magic on me!" Cordelia teased, still poking at the girls sides as she finally squirmed away.

"You weren't respecting the rules of the blanket fort." Elliott said seriously, making Cordelia laugh.

"You never use magic on me." Cordelia laughed. Really, she should be reprimanding the girl for using her magic against another witch. But considering Elliott hardly ever used magic at all, it actually was a good thing, it meant she was finally more accepting of her powers, which is all Cordelia could hope for.

"What are we supposed ta do when the power's out?" Misty asked, glancing between the girls. Sure, she had lived at the swamp with little to no electricity, but usually she went to bed as soon as it got dark, since she really didn't have any way to entertain herself when she was all alone.

"I would say read, but candles aren't exactly the best lighting." Elliott said, her eyebrows creased as she tried to think of what to do.

Cordelia scoffed, "God forbid we actually  _talk_  to each other."

"In this house?" Elliott shot back sarcastically, " _Never_."

Cordelia let out a laugh, then tried to think of something to actually talk about, "Tell me something I don't know about you."

"Uh oh." Elliott said seriously.

"What?" Cordelia asked, nudging the girl.

"You're just trying to get me in trouble again." Elliott said, an unimpressed look on her face.

"I am not." Cordelia said, "Is there things I don't know that would get you in trouble?"

"Maybe." Elliott teased, making Cordelia roll her eyes.

"I'm starting to think you enjoy driving me crazy." Cordelia groaned.

"You're just now realizing that?" Elliott asked, Cordelia throwing her a sarcastic look and moving to poke her sides just as Elliott shifted away from her.

"Elle, ya never told me how ya ended up here at the coven." Misty said, abruptly changing the conversation.

Elliott looked at her for a moment before letting out a laugh, motioning to Cordelia, "That's because I don't even know, ask her."

"You do know, at least some of it." Cordelia said, trying to get the girl to talk.

"I know you went to Grace and then ambushed me." Elliott said sarcastically, Cordelia throwing her a look.

"I did not  _ambush_  you, I was helping you." Cordelia said seriously, Elliott grinning at her.

"I still don't know what's goin' on." Misty stated, obviously very confused.

Cordelia sighed, knowing she was going to have to explain most of the situation, "I kept having visions about a witch in New Orleans, but I couldn't find her. I wasn't getting full visions, just fragments. I had no idea what she looked like or where she was, it was driving me crazy. I was staying up all night trying to find something that would tell me who she was, but she is very good at disappearing. I looked through missing persons, case files, everything, and no sign of her. It was like she didn't exist."

Elliott looked at her, obviously confused, "So then how did you know it was me? When you finally found me?"

Cordelia reached out and touched Elliott's face, smiling softly at her, "Your eyes. I've never seen eyes quite like yours."

Elliott let out a laugh, "Suck up."

Cordelia rolled her eyes but continued, "I ended up having a vision about the Hair Salon, and I almost didn't go, but I'm glad I did. I talked with Grace, and she gave me absolutely nothing, but I ran into Elliott on my way out and I just knew. I knew it was her."

"And then Grace came to you." Elliott stated, watching as Cordelia's jaw dropped, she had never told Elliott that Grace came to see her, "I'm not as stupid as I look."

Cordelia let out a sigh, "Yes, Grace came to me. We were going to try and set up a meeting, so it didn't look like I was….  _Ambushing_  her, but  _someone_  had to go get herself into trouble."

Elliott scoffed as Misty grinned at the two women, "That was NOT my fault."

Cordelia glanced over at Misty, "She was with David at work and some guy came in and tried to rob them. I had a vision of the store so I transmutated over there."

"You transmutated?" Elliott asked as Cordelia nodded, "I thought you ubered."

Cordelia chuckled, "No, I did not uber."

"You two suck at tellin' stories." Misty teased, both Cordelia and Elliott throwing her the same look, which just made her laugh.

"She tried to kill the guy. But she was so focused on David that she was actually hurting him instead, so I had to intervene." Cordelia said, "I couldn't stop her so I had to kill the guy, then I had to try and reason with a very angry Elliott to get her to come with me to the academy, which wasn't easy."

"Yea," Misty began, looking at Elliott, "Ya are like ya mama, you're terrifying when ya are mad."

Both Cordelia and Elliott shared a look, snickering. "You are telling me." Cordelia laughed, "It was like negotiating a hostage situation. She just kept giving me these death stares."

"I was trying to decide if I could take you." Elliott said seriously, both Misty and Cordelia turning to look at her, "I decided I could."

"But ya agreed?" Misty asked, Elliott laughing.

"It wasn't like I really had a choice." She said, Cordelia throwing her a look.

"You had a choice." The supreme said seriously, "I wouldn't make you."

"We both know you weren't leaving until I agreed." Elliott shot back, smirking.

Cordelia nodded slightly, "That is true."

"So I didn't have a choice." Elliott said, "I had the illusion of a choice."

Cordelia rolled her eyes, "So I brought her back here and the second I left her alone she ran out the door."

Elliott scoffed, "I didn't leave, I just relocated."

Cordelia threw Elliott an unimpressed face before turning to Misty, who was very amused, "She slept in the greenhouse under a table."

Elliott nodded as Misty snickered, "I did do that, that is true."

"That sounds like ya." Misty laughed, the three of them all smiling and laughing by that point.

"We've come a long way." Cordelia said, grabbing Elliott's hand, "But you would still sleep in the greenhouse if I let you."

"I'm not denying that." Elliott said seriously, "100% I would. The plants aren't nearly as bitchy as Madison in the morning."

"You still have to tell me one thing I don't know about you." Cordelia stated, not about to let her earlier proposition slip by.

Elliott rolled her eyes, obviously being overdramatic as she nodded. She thought for a moment, trying to think of something the woman didn't know about her, considering she knew more than almost anyone else in the world. Her eyes landed on the piano in the corner, a candle her and Misty had lit earlier resting on it. Her eyes lit up and she crawled out of the fort, pulling herself to her feet and walking over to it. Cordelia watched her carefully as she did, not knowing exactly what she was going to do until she saw the girl sit at the bench and open the lid, squinting in the dark room to try and make out where the keys were. Really, her hands were too small for her to play piano well, but she at least got by, and she played a small snippet of a song her choir teacher had showed her a while back, although she didn't know the name of it.

Cordelia was stunned, watching her daughter play for the first time. It was obviously a song she knew very well, since she hadn't played in at least 8 months and she didn't even need to look at the keys. "Why have you been hiding that?" Cordelia asked as the girl finished and stood, wandering back to the fort as she shrugged.

"I wasn't hiding it. It's not like I'm that great, I just learned it because I had the time." Elliott answered as Cordelia pulled her into a hug.

"Who taught you?" Cordelia asked.

"I taught myself. I used to hang out after school a lot with my choir teacher because I didn't want to go home, and there was a piano so I just started to learn. It gave me an excuse." Elliott said, acting like it wasn't actually a big deal.

"So you can bake, cook, sing, and play piano? You are one talented little girl." Cordelia gushed, Elliott blushing at the praise.

"I used to write my own music too." Elliott said, "I wasn't ever very good at it, but I liked to do it."

"I want to hear them." Cordelia said seriously, Elliott smirking back at her.

"I don't have them anymore, thank god." She said sarcastically.

"Then I guess you'll just have to write a song for me." Cordelia said seriously, Elliott laughing.

"Now you have to tell me something I don't know about you." She said, trying to change the conversation from talking about her.

"I can fit ten marshmallows in my mouth." Misty said seriously, both Elliott and Cordelia looking back at her, stunned, before they broke out in giggles.

"I'll keep that in mind." Elliott laughed.

"I can touch my nose with my tongue." Cordelia said, Elliott looking at her doubtfully.

"Do it." Elliott said, Cordelia immediately sticking her tongue out and touching it to the tip of her nose, making the girl smile.

Eventually, they decided to call it a night, packing up the blanket fort despite Misty's protests to leave it up. Luckily, they got everything cleaned up before Madison wandered down to the kitchen, knowing she would have made a snarky remark about it, and Elliott headed to the kitchen to get some water before bed, stopping to briefly chat with the superstar.

Cordelia glanced at Misty and she felt torn. She wanted nothing more than to curl up with her girlfriend in bed, but the storm was still raging outside, the thunder becoming so loud it was rattling the house. While Cordelia didn't think Elliott would really have an issue with Misty sleeping with them, she also knew if Elliott felt like she was intruding she would put up a fight if Cordelia asked her to stay in the supreme's room. Misty, however, seemed to read the woman's mind, grabbing her hand and squeezing softly, "I'll be fine. Go be a mama."

Cordelia smiled gratefully, pulling the swamp witch into a kiss so heated she hoped Elliott didn't wander back into the room, surely it would scar her. "Elliott?" She yelled as she pulled back, smiling at her girlfriend.

"Yea?" Elliott yelled back from the kitchen.

"My room!" Cordelia yelled back, Misty amused by the normalcy of it all.

"Did you change the sheets?" Madison yelled back, making Cordelia blush as she let out a groan.

"Hollywood?" Misty called out, "Don't make me beat ya ass again!" She looked back at Cordelia with a smirk on her face, "Ya knew that was comin'."


	50. Chapter 50

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the unexplained hiatus. Things havent been going so well and I was having a hard time writing this story. Hope this too long chapter makes up for it.

“David, why won’t you just tell me?” Elliott sighed, flopping back onto the boy’s bed.

“Because it’s none of your business.” David said, laughing at Elliott’s theatrical reaction. She had been pestering him since the moment she got up about his breakup, and she wasn’t taking no for an answer.

“We’re best friends, we tell each other everything.” Elliott huffed, lifting her head only to throw him a glare.

“Not everything.” David said.

“Was it because of me? Is that why you won’t tell me?” Elliott asked bluntly, sitting up and staring at him.

“What could you have done?” David laughed, thinking the girl was joking before he glanced at her very serious face, “Elle, no. It wasn’t you, I promise.” The concern on Elliott’s face didn’t lift, so with a sigh David finally gave in, “We broke up because she found out that the last time we broke up, I got drunk and slept with someone else.”

“Ok, but you were broken up?” Elliott said, confused. While this was very out of character for David, he wasn’t really the type to sleep around, he didn’t technically cheat on her, although it was a questionable choice. “I mean, I get her not exactly being happy about it, but you didn’t cheat on her.”

David winced, “Yea, but it was with a friend… the day after we broke up.”

“Who?” Elliott asked, knowing David was holding some important information back. She knew every single one of his friends, and besides her they were all dudes.

“It’s not important.” David said quickly, knowing Elliott wasn’t going to drop it like he wanted.

“Obviously it is, she dumped you.” Elliott said, getting suspicious, “When did it happen?”

“Elliott…” David groaned, wishing just for once she wouldn’t have to have all the information.

“What? You literally aren’t making sense. Just tell me.” Elliott said.

“Fine.” David said abruptly, “I slept with Madison the night of your adoption.”

Elliott tried her hardest to not look like she was just slapped across the face. “Oh.” She said quietly, giving herself a chance to recover, “Why didn’t you just say that?”

“She asked me not to tell you. It was a one-time thing; we both knew it was a mistake. She thought you would be upset.” David explained, watching the young witches face carefully. Fortunately for Elliott, her poker face had gotten significantly better, and she was able to hide her burning anger well.

“It’s whatever. It happens.” Elliott said with a shrug, trying to come of nonchalant, “So is that your thing now? Anytime you two break up you get with another girl?”

“Elliott, what?” David said, “I slept with one girl.”

“And you kissed me last night.” Elliott stated, “Look, I know it was a dare and it didn’t mean anything, but if you two get back together it’s going to mean something for her. She already hates me.”

“She doesn’t hate you, and it was a dare, simple as that.” David said. He didn’t want to admit to Elliott that his girlfriend really didn’t like her, that the majority of their fights centered around his relationship with her, so he told a white lie. It wasn’t like he was planning on getting back together with her anyways.

“Alright, well next time wear a condom, ok?” Elliott said, trying to keep the snark out of her voice. It wasn’t entirely successful based on the look David gave her, but she couldn’t keep herself from making the dig. She was adopted three weeks ago, which lined up perfectly with Madison’s pregnancy scare. Sure, it was possible Madison had slept with more than one person in that week, but the timing was something Elliott couldn’t ignore.

“What are you talking about?” David asked, “How did you…?”

“Madison’s period was a week late and she thought she was pregnant. I’m not an idiot David, I can do the math.” Elliott said bluntly, “Look, I have to go get ready, ok?”

“Uh, ok. Have fun.” David said, trying to figure out why Elliott was being so weird. He knew there was a good chance she would be upset, but she said she wasn’t, so why was she acting like this? Why couldn’t she just be honest?

Elliott headed back into her room and shut the door behind her, trying to figure out exactly what this feeling was that had taken up residence in her chest. She couldn’t possibly be jealous. She was never the jealous type, and it wasn’t like she was harboring feelings for David. They were just friends, and everyone who said otherwise was just stupid. She wasn’t jealous, it had to be something else. The concussion maybe? Yea, that had to be it, that’s why she was feeling so weird. Although she had to admit it was impeccable timing, right on Thanksgiving when she would be spending copious amounts of time with her family. It was the perfect setup for an all-out explosion, and Elliott really didn’t want to be the one to ruin her first real holiday with them. She certainly did not want to tell Cordelia, that would just make the woman worry. No, Elliott could deal with this all on her own, she could control this. All she needed to do was take a nap, give her brain a hard reset, then she’d be good as new.

Misty was the one to rouse her a few hours later, handing Elliott the Chinese takeout menu so she could pick what she wanted and Cordelia could order it. Cordelia had warned Elliott ahead of time that they didn’t do a traditional Thanksgiving, since no one in the house really could cook, at least not before she showed up. It was a relatively calm holiday, since the group was so small, but Elliott knew it was still very important to Cordelia. It gave her quality time with the people she considered family, and it gave her a valid excuse to not do any work.

Once Misty had left Elliott tried to reevaluate her emotional state. She still was upset, she couldn’t deny that, but it wasn’t as strong as before, more controlled. Still, Misty had caught her napping, which was sure to raise a few red flags, and she had told her mother that she would let her know when she felt like something was going on. If something did happen and Elliott hid it from Cordelia, the woman was definitely going to be upset.

Sure enough, as soon as Elliott changed her clothes and headed downstairs Cordelia was on her. “Hey baby.” Cordelia said as soon as Elliott walked into the kitchen, moving toward her and pressing a kiss into her hair, “Misty said you were napping. You feeling ok?”

“Uh, yea. Just a rough morning, I guess.” Elliott said, trying to get her point across while still being discrete, due to Coco and Mallory milling about the room. It wasn’t like they didn’t already know she was having issues, but she still wanted a tiny bit of privacy.

Cordelia nodded knowingly, her eyes growing concerned, “Are you feeling better?”

Elliott nodded, “Yea, I think so.” The response was crafted carefully, giving enough to quell the woman’s concerns while also giving Elliott a buffer in case she did lash out. It seemed to do the trick, Cordelia relaxing slightly and smiling at her before pressing another kiss to her head, “Do you need help with anything?”

Cordelia paused for a moment before shaking her head, “No, I think we’re ok. Madison and David went to pick up the food, so as soon as they get back we’ll be ready to eat.”

Elliott felt her anger pick up again, and she knew it was going to be a long night. Luckily for her, Coco was quick to interject, “Wait, Madison actually offered to help out? Did she suddenly become a good person and I missed it?”

Cordelia let out a laugh, “I don’t know. David offered to get the food, next thing I knew Madison was tagging along. I’m not going to ask any questions.”

“Ah, the lengths she’ll go to get in his pants.” Coco chuckled, making Cordelia and Elliott both roll their eyes.

Elliott tried to keep herself busy until they returned, hiding out in the library until Cordelia called her down for food. When she entered the dining room and took her seat, she noticed David wasn’t sitting next to her like he usually was, instead sitting at the opposite end next to Madison, chatting away. She ducked her head as she clenched her jaw. She wasn’t jealous, she _wasn’t_. She was fine, everything was fine.

Elliott wasn’t really hungry, but she still put food on her plate anyways, pushing it around with her fork as the people around her chatted away. Coco had seemingly taken an interest in potions, talking with Cordelia about spending more time in the greenhouse and learning about the plants.  Cordelia was the one to try and bring Elliott into the conversation, suggesting the two of them work together, considering Elliott knew plenty about the plants and had mentioned before about wanting to try potions. Elliott simply glanced up at Coco and nodded, giving a small smile before her eyes darted back over to the opposite side of the table, where Madison and David were laughing about something. It shouldn’t have been bothering Elliott this much, but it did. David had barely tolerated Madison, and suddenly they were friends? David had never referred to Madison as a friend before, but now they were chatting like best friends. Elliott wasn’t dumb, she knew them picking up the food was just an excuse so they could talk alone, probably so David could let Madison know that Elliott knew about them. But wouldn’t that make them want to stay away from each other? Maybe not, maybe they really didn’t care what Elliott thought. She knew for sure that Madison didn’t.

Suddenly, Cordelia’s hand was on her own. “You’ve been quiet.” Cordelia said softly, causing Elliott to glance at her, the woman searching her eyes intensely. Since getting comfortable at the coven, it wasn’t common for Elliott to not talk during dinner, she was always joking around with the other girls, but that night she just wasn’t really in the mood, not when it was all she could do to not shoot lasers from her eyes.

“Oh, sorry.” Elliott said, her cheeks blushing at being caught, “Just distracted, I guess.”

Cordelia nodded slightly, knowing there was more going on, and glanced around the table quickly, seemingly deciding that now wasn’t the best time to talk about it. “Ok. Eat just a few bites for me?” Cordelia asked, Elliott nodding in return. That she could do. Elliott’s therapy had mostly moved to working on her eating habits, and she had shown some improvement. She was finally starting to put on more weight, but Cordelia still felt the need to watch her eating carefully, and she had learned when to push and when not to. If Elliott wasn’t eating at dinner, Cordelia would simply ask her to eat a little bit, never more than she could handle, and they would revisit the issue later when there weren’t people around. Usually by the time Cordelia was asking Elliott to eat again, the girl was in a better place to do so, and if she wasn’t then Cordelia would have the satisfaction of knowing she at least ate _something_.

After dinner, Elliott offered to do the dishes, and the rest of the group either sat at the table and conversed or headed to the living room. It was supposed to be a distraction, that was until Madison walked up and tried having a conversation. “Well look at you being a good little girl.” Madison snarled. This was normal for them, and usually Elliott would just respond with something sarcastic and teasing, but she really didn’t want to even look at Madison.

“Not now, Maddie.” Elliott said, making sure her displeasure with the starlet’s presence was on full display.

Madison, however, was completely oblivious, choosing to make yet another snarky comment, “What? Am I distracting you?”

“God! Can you ever take a fucking hint?” Elliott snarled as she shot Madison a fiery glare.

“What’s your fucking problem? Relax.” Madison said, rolling her eyes.

“I’m not doing this here.” Elliott said bluntly, turning back to the dishes and angrily slamming the silverware into the dishwasher.

“Would you rather go somewhere else?” Madison asked condescendingly, Elliott rolling her eyes.

“Yea, away from you.” She bit, Madison letting out a scoff before grabbing Elliott’s hand and tugging her out to the greenhouse.

“Ok. What’s your fucking damage?” Madison sneered.

“You.” Elliott bit, practically screaming, which shocked Madison, “I mean, jesus! What the fuck, Madison? David, really?”

“What’s your fucking problem? We’re adults, Elliott, and you’re getting awfully worked up for someone who doesn’t love him.” Madison shot back.

“I don’t love him.” Elliott said adamantly.

“And denial is just a river in Egypt.” Madison said sarcastically, “Jesus, you need to figure your shit out. First I can fuck him, now I can’t? Make up your damn mind.”

“You knew he was off limits.” Elliott snarled.

“So what are you going to do? Tell Cordelia?” Madison asked sarcastically.

“Fuck no.” Elliott huffed.

“Why?” Madison asked, “You know she’d ring me out.”

“You know why.” Elliott spat back.

Unknown to them, Cordelia had wandered out to the greenhouse to water plants, stopping when she heard the two of them and hearing practically the entire conversation. She wasn’t one to eavesdrop, but knowing how upset Elliott was, she figured she would make sure the two of them weren’t going to kill each other, only being pulled away once Misty spotted her.

“Let them handle it.” Misty said, ignoring Cordelia’s protests, “We’re celebrating.”

“But…” Cordelia said as Misty worked at dragging her away.

Misty’s attempt was successful for a few moments, but once Cordelia heard Madison say, “Oh that’s right, you’ve got a few secrets of your own. Can’t rat me out without doing some major damage.” Cordelia planted her feet and locked eyes with Misty, both overhearing the same thing. Both waited for the response, but the girls were no longer yelling and the witches couldn’t quite make it out, so with a sigh Cordelia followed the swamp witch back towards the house.

“I swear to god if you say _anything_.” Elliott bit quietly, her voice dropping to a whisper.

“I told you I wasn’t going to say anything.” Madison said adamantly.

“Like I believe a single thing that comes out of your mouth, Maddie. The only person you care about is yourself.” Elliott said sarcastically.

“I’m not going to say anything. But you do know she’s going to find out, right? You can’t hide it forever. Literally everyone knows but her, it’s only a matter of time.” Madison said, watching Elliott’s eyes go wide.

“ _Everyone_ knows?” Elliott said as Madison nodded, “She can’t know.”

“Why do you think none of us have said anything? We need her functioning.” Madison explained, choosing to end that conversation, “Look, it didn’t mean anything. It was just drunk sex, and neither of us want it to happen again, ok?”

“You still lied to me about it.” Elliott shot back, although she wasn’t as angry as before.

“Do you think I’m fucking proud of it? We made a mistake and we both knew it, that’s why we didn’t want you to know. I didn’t want you to be hurt over my screw up.” Madison said honestly.

Elliott stared at the girl for a moment before shaking her head, “You’re going soft.”

“Don’t remind me. I still have a reputation to uphold.” Madison sneered, “Look, I’m sorry for fucking your boytoy or whatever. Can we just take a shot and forget this whole thing ever happened?”

Elliott rolled her eyes, “You can take a shot.”

“Thank god.” Madison moaned, heading for her secret stash and taking a swig of whiskey, “You sure you don’t want some? I won’t snitch to your mommy.”

“No, I’m good.” Elliott said, honestly just waiting for the night to be over. At this rate she was going to be in bed before they even served dessert.

“Lame.” Madison sneered before putting away the bottle, “Now can we go back inside or do you want to hit me?”

“Don’t tempt me.” Elliott said seriously, the diva flashing her a smirk before pulling her back towards the house.

Cordelia was waiting for Elliott the second she walked back through the door, “Everything ok?”

Elliott quickly glanced up and nodded as the movie star headed back to the living room. “Yea, everything’s fine. I gotta go call the boys.” She said quietly as she gave her mother a soft smile, ignoring the doubt on Cordelia’s face as she pushed past her and made her way to the porch.

Cordelia was quick to pull out her phone and send Madison a text, “My office. Now.” She heard the girl scoff in the next room, murmuring something sarcastic before heading up the stairs, the supreme following behind her.

“What gives?” Madison asked as she flopped down in a chair, seemingly deciding that whatever it happened to be was going to take a while.

“I told you David was off limits.” Cordelia seethed, shooting Madison a glare.

Madison let out a scoff, “God, you really are a helicopter parent, aren’t you? Eavesdropping, really?”

“I was going out to water plants, it wasn’t intentional.” Cordelia said defensively as Madison rolled her eyes, “I stayed because you two were screaming and I had to make sure she didn’t _kill_ you because I sure as hell would have.”

“Well sorry I broke one of your rules.” Madison said sarcastically, “It isn’t that big of a damn deal.”

“Do you know why I told you to stay away from David?” Cordelia asked, “It wasn’t because of Elliott. It was because he has to stay here and I didn’t want you to make him uncomfortable.”

“Oh believe me, he’s comfortable.” Madison said with a smirk, “Look, he’s fine with it, I’m fine with it. The only ones making this a big thing is our favorite mommy daughter duo, so can we just move the fuck on?”

Cordelia opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by someone knocking on the door, Misty peeking her head inside, “Uh, Dee? Can I talk ta ya for a sec? It’s kind of important.”

“Please do.” Madison said, throwing the supreme a glare before standing and walking past the swamp witch, Cordelia letting out a sigh.

“What is it?” She asked, Misty stepping inside and closing the door, looking anxious.

“I.. um… I was usin’ the bathroom upstairs, the girl’s bathroom, and I uh, I saw this in the trash.” Misty said hesitantly, pulling out a pregnancy test and handing it to Cordelia, who glanced at it momentarily before her eyes went wide. “I wasn’t gonna say anythin’, but it’s uh…”

“It’s positive.” Cordelia said quickly as her face paled.

“I mean, it could be from any of the girls, and I don’t wanna pry in their personal business, but…” Misty said.

“It couldn’t be from any of the girls. The housekeeper was in two days ago, after the rest of the girls had left.” Cordelia explained, trying her hardest to keep from jumping to conclusions. Sure, most of the girls in the house were adults. All except one, in fact, and considering Cordelia had just heard that Elliott had a secret, it wasn’t exactly a good look.

Cordelia glanced up and knew Misty was thinking the exact same thing she was; it was hard not to. Cordelia desperately wanted to trust her daughter, that she was making the right choices, but it was difficult when she knew Elliott was keeping things from her. Still, she weighed her options. If the test was Elliott’s then obviously Cordelia had to deal with it, but if it wasn’t and she accused her there was definitely going to be fallout. Cordelia just couldn’t shake the feeling that Elliott was keeping something big from her. It had been bugging her for months, ever since Cordelia first took Elliott to the doctors. Cordelia had made a joke about Elliott not having sex, and while Elliott didn’t disagree, she looked uncomfortable, and it didn’t sit right with Cordelia. She had tried to play it off that Elliott just really didn’t like talking about sex, but with the test in hand suddenly every small detail seemed like something bigger. “What do ya want me ta do, Dee?” Misty asked, seeing the distress on her girlfriends features.

Cordelia couldn’t ignore her gut, she just couldn’t. She had to know, so with a sigh she said, “Send Elliott in here.”

Misty gave a curt nod and left the room as Cordelia went to sit at her desk, trying to calm herself down enough to actually have this conversation. She couldn’t even fathom the idea of Elliott being pregnant, she was barely 16. But then again, Cordelia did have her young, not that young, but too young. Still, it all seemed to line up. If Madison was the one who gave the test to her, it would explain why the girl brought up Elliott’s “secret”, one that apparently would do serious damage. Not to mention Elliott had been irritable, tired, and withdrawn. Add that with her lack of appetite and the signs were all there.

“Hey.” Elliott said as she walked through the door and towards her mother, “Misty said you wanted to see me?”

“Have a seat, Elle.” Cordelia said quietly, mentally preparing herself for the shit show of a conversation she was about to have, closing the door with a flick of her wrist.

Elliott glanced back at the door briefly as she sat down, quickly realizing the conversation had to be something serious. Cordelia only ever closed the door when one of the girls was in trouble. “What’s up?” She asked, staring at her mother curiously. She hadn’t done anything wrong, at least not that she knew of.

“Uh, Misty found a pregnancy test in the girl’s bathroom. It had to come from someone here.” Cordelia said flatly, bracing herself for the worst possible scenario. She was trying to keep an open mind, avoid being accusatory, but Elliott wasn’t seeming to get it.

“Ok, and?” Elliott asked, although Cordelia noticed she didn’t exactly seem surprised.

“It was positive.” Cordelia said plainly, watching confusion and what appeared to be shock cross the girls features, but she couldn’t decide if it was genuine.

“Oh.” Elliott said, her thoughts going directly to Madison. She said it was negative, but then again, Madison hadn’t exactly been truthful before, and Elliott felt her insides light up at the thought. Cordelia didn’t say anything else, just staring at the girl, and Elliott stared back at the woman for a moment before realizing exactly why she was called in, her eyes narrowing and her face hardening. “And you think it was me.” She said, more a statement than a question. She waited a moment for Cordelia to deny it, but the woman just sat silent, biting her lip like she always did when she was nervous, and if Elliott wasn’t mad before, she sure as hell was now. “Jesus.” Elliott said harshly, “You really don’t trust me at all, do you? You know there’s a room full of sexually active, _adult_ women downstairs, right?”

“So it wasn’t yours?” Cordelia asked, needing a straight answer to calm her racing heart.

“No, it wasn’t.” Elliott bit, giving Cordelia a fiery glare.

Cordelia dropped her gaze, immediately feeling guilty and relieved as she attempted to do damage control. “Elle, I…” She started, but Elliott just wasn’t having it.

“Even if I was having sex, which I’m not, I’m not a fucking idiot, Cordelia. I would use a condom. Not to mention you already know I probably can’t even get pregnant, so really I don’t know why you immediately thought it was me.” Elliott spit, “Never mind, I do know why. Because you don’t and never will trust me, even when there’s a whole host of facts that prove you wrong.”

“Elliott,” Cordelia said calmly, trying to defend herself even a little bit, “I know plenty of people who were told they couldn’t get pregnant and weren’t careful. Things happen, it’s not a sure thing.” Cordelia knew it was useless, Elliott was already worked up. Hell, she called her Cordelia, that never happened anymore, which meant Elliott probably wasn’t even processing what she was saying. That, or she actually was, and she knew calling Cordelia by her name would sting.

“Except I already told you I wasn’t having sex, which should have ended the issue right away if you believed me.” Elliott said harshly.

Cordelia was stunned. Sure, she expected Elliott to be upset, but certainly not _this_ upset. She was practically screaming, her face bright red and eyes blazing. _The concussion. Shit._ In her pregnancy test induced panic, Cordelia had totally forgotten that Elliott had told her she had been having issues. It completely slipped her mind, and had she remembered she never would have even brought up the conversation. Ok, she probably would have, because it was driving her crazy, but she at least would have been a little more prepared for the blow up. Unbeknownst to Cordelia, it really wasn’t the concussion at all, just a whole lot of displaced anger, although Elliott wasn’t really aware of it either. “Elle, I’m sorry. I…” Cordelia stuttered, mentally punching herself for even _considering_ that it could possibly be Elliott’s.

Elliott clenched her jaw momentarily, before deciding Cordelia wasn’t exactly the person she wanted to be screaming at right now, even if she kind of deserved it. “Just… Don’t even.” Elliott spit out before standing and walking out the door, making sure to slam it behind her. Now she was on a warpath, walking down to the living room and grabbing Madison’s arm, forcefully dragging her outside.

“Ow, what the fuck gives?” Madison practically screeched, ripping her arm from Elliott’s grasp as soon as they stepped on the porch.

“Do you ever stop fucking lying to me?” Elliott spit, wanting nothing more than to punch the movie star in her perfect little face.

“What are you talking about?” Madison yelled back, backing off when Elliott stepped dangerously close, her blazing eyes merely inches away.

“You are pregnant.” Elliott yelled, “Misty found the pregnancy test in the bathroom, Madison. It was fucking positive.”

“Well it sure as shit wasn’t mine.” Madison bit back.

“Then whose was it, Madison?” Elliott yelled back.

Cordelia had managed to gather herself and come back downstairs and grab a glass of wine before she glanced out the kitchen window and saw the screaming girls, watching them go back and forth for a few moments, Zoe coming to join her. “What’s that about?” She asked, pointing at the window.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” Cordelia said quietly, the gears in her head turning. Through the window she could make out just enough of the yelling to discern that Elliott thought the pregnancy test was Madison’s, but Elliott wasn’t really the type to say anything unless she had some solid evidence, at least not usually. Which had to mean Elliott knew Madison had taken a test.

“What test is she talking about?” Zoe asked, now purely watching for entertainment.

“Misty found a positive pregnancy test in the bathroom. I’m assuming Elliott thinks it was Madison’s, which doesn’t look good since she found out Madison slept with David.” Cordelia said offhandedly as she took a sip of her red wine, it all finally clicking.

“Oh no.” Zoe said quietly, her face dropping, “Shit.”

Cordelia couldn’t have looked more surprised if she wanted to, her mouth gaping like a fish as she stared at Zoe. It wasn’t Elliott’s or Madison’s, Zoe was pregnant.

Zoe glanced at Cordelia and her cheeks blushed, “We wanted to wait to tell everyone…”

Cordelia’s gaze softened, smiling before she chuckled, “Well I won’t say anything, but you might want to go tell them before they kill each other. I don’t think Elliott’s taking any prisoners tonight.”

Zoe looked out the window hesitantly, “Yea, I’m not sure I want to get in the middle of that.” Still, with a sigh she complied, heading towards the front door and standing next to the screaming girls, who didn’t seem to notice her. “Guys…” Zoe said quietly, but the two just kept going at it, so she had to yell, “Guys!” Madison and Elliott finally turned their attention to her, and she glanced around nervously, “The test wasn’t Madison’s.”

“Zoe, don’t try to protect her.” Elliott said, still fired up as she glared at Madison, prepared to go another round.

“The test was mine.” Zoe spit out, both girls snapping their attention back to her, the surprise clear on their faces.

“Are you serious?” Madison asked as Zoe nodded, “Why the fuck would you take it here?”

“Because I’m an idiot apparently.” Zoe said, “There’s like 30 girls here, I thought no one would notice.”

Elliott stayed quiet as Madison let out a groan, “Jesus, even killer vagina is settling down before me.”

“Yea well, um, we weren’t really planning to tell everyone until later. So, if you guys could keep it to yourselves?” Zoe asked timidly, Madison rolling her eyes before nodding.

“Yea, sure. Whatever.” She dragged out.

“We’ll keep quiet.” Elliott said softly, “Congratulations.”

“Oh yea, congrats or whatever.” Madison said condescendingly, Zoe offering a quite thank you before scurrying back inside, Madison turning back to Elliott, “So you want that shot now?”

“Please.” Elliott said tiredly, so wound up it wasn’t even funny. She knew she probably owed Madison an apology, but knowing the movie star it wasn’t necessary. The two didn’t normally apologize when they fought, they just kind of moved on.

“I thought you were still trying to be mommy’s good girl.” Madison sneered as she poured Elliott a double shot of tequila in the greenhouse.

“Well I just screamed at her so…” Elliott said as she sat down in the seat next to her.

“Why?” Madison asked, curious, “Were you just on a roll tonight?”

“No, she started the roll, or the second half of the roll.” Elliott muttered, “She thought the test was mine.”

“Seriously?” Madison asked, Elliott nodding, “Jesus, is she fucking delusional? You’re practically the virgin Mary.”

“Apparently she doesn’t think so.” Elliott huffed as she rolled her eyes, “Literally no matter what I say, she doesn’t believe me, and I’m over it.”

“So you’re drinking to get back at her?” Madison asked with a smirk, “Not that I blame you.”

“I’m drinking because I had a shitty day and this is probably the only thing that will get me through the night without murdering someone.” Elliott said, Madison shooting her a knowing look, “And maybe a tiny bit to get back at her.”

“You worried that if she finds out she’ll yell at you?” Madison asked, Elliott shrugging.

“At least this time it will be for something I actually did.” She stated, picking up the cup and throwing the shot back, “God, that still sucks.”

“Figured I’d find you two out here.” David said as he strolled in the greenhouse, “Little Elle is drinking?”

Elliott shot him a look, “Listen, I’ve already gotten into three fights tonight. Now is _not_ the time.”

“Want a shot?” Madison asked, David smirking.

“Please.” He said, but Madison was way ahead of him, already pouring the shot. Elliott could already fell the alcohol beginning to take effect, aided by the fact that she hadn’t eaten more than a few forkfuls the entire day, and she felt a pleasant warmness flow through her veins. “Surprised one of you doesn’t have a black eye.” David laughed after downing the shot.

“Listen, even I have standards. I wouldn’t punch a kid.” Madison sneered, David laughing.

“It wasn’t Elliott I was worried about, it was you. Elliott has a mean right hook.” He chuckled, “When we were kids some older dude was bullying the shit out of her, he was at least twice her size, and one day she just snapped and knocked his ass right out. Scared the fuck out of everyone, no one could see it coming.”

“And no one bothered me ever again.” Elliott said with a smirk.

“Damn right they didn’t.” David said.

“Well this has been fun, but I better scram before Cordelia comes out here and realizes I’m corrupting her precious girl. She’ll stick me on dish duty for a week, and I don’t even fucking live here.” Madison sneered.

“I love how dish duty is her idea of a harsh punishment.” Elliott chuckled.

“It is for me. I spend way too much on my nails to have them crusted in dirty ass food.” Madison said, making a face, “Anyways, keep your clothes on.”

“Are you ok?” David asked once Madison had left the greenhouse, Elliott glancing at him briefly before staring at her hands.

“Yea, I’m fine. Just a shitty day.” Elliott answered, knowing it was a lie. As much as she wanted to deny her feelings and blame it on the concussion, she had to admit the truth. She was jealous, insanely jealous.

“Is that all it was?” David pressed, Elliott shooting him a look, “Look, I just don’t see what the big deal is about me and Madison. You had no issue with me getting a girlfriend.”

“That was different. Your girlfriend wasn’t one of my best friends.” Elliott said adamantly.

“So you’re jealous?” David asked.

“Yes.” Elliott stated, the alcohol giving her a sense of clarity about the whole thing. David just stared at her for a moment before Elliott acted on impulse, resting her hand on his neck and pressing her lips to his. She couldn’t keep pushing down her feelings, acting like they didn’t exist because she was scared of the outcome. She was in love with David, and she knew he loved her too, they both were just too petrified to say it.

After the shock had worn off, David reciprocated the kiss, tugging Elliott off the chair and closer to him, her mouth tasting like vanilla mint and tequila. But just as soon as Elliott came up for air, David pulled away, putting as much distance between the two as he could. “What the fuck are you doing, Elliott?” David spit, and Elliott physically recoiled from the drastic change. She stared at him stunned for a few moments before he continued, “I mean jesus christ, Elliott. You can’t just walk around kissing people because you had a bad day.”

“It wasn’t about that.” Elliott stated, still in a state of shock.

“Then what was it about? We can’t do this. You know we can’t do this. I’m not just some guy, Elliott.” David snapped.

“You know you’re not just some guy, David.” Elliott spit back, now feeling totally defensive. She wasn’t imagining things, he kissed her back, if he didn’t want it he could have pulled away long before that. “Why exactly can’t we do this?” She asked, still confused as to why her best friend was having a meltdown.

“You know why, Elliott. What is it with you? One second you’re yelling at me for sleeping around and the next you’re kissing me? How is that fair?” David yelled, “Why would you even try that? You have _him_.”

“Ok, first of all, me and _him_ aren’t even a thing. We aren’t dating, we aren’t together.” Elliott snapped, David shooting her a glare.

“I’m not the person you can take your shit out on, Elle. You can’t kiss me just because you are confused.” David fired back.

“I’m not confused, David.” Elliott stated sharply, David shaking his head as his phone rang.

“Yes, you are.” David said as he glanced at the screen, “I have to take this, excuse me.”

Elliott felt tears build behind her eyes as David walked away. He was right, she knew better. _Stupid, stupid, stupid_. Of course that wasn’t going to go over well, she basically ambushed him when he knew she had been drinking. She let out a frustrated grunt and reached for the bottle of tequila still sitting on the table, moving to put it away at first before seemingly saying “Fuck it” and unscrewing the cap, taking a few very large swigs. She always did this, always got too overwhelmed with trivial shit and self-destructed, it was what she was good at, and this time the explosion was David. He didn’t deserve it; she knew he didn’t. He deserved a well thought out plan, a conversation, not something based on impulse.

As she made the trek back to the house she saw headlights pulling out of the driveway, and she rolled her eyes as she stumbled through the door, spotting Madison, alone, sitting at the counter. “Who left?” She asked.

Madison glanced up briefly before refocusing on her phone, “David, said he was going to see Rachel or something.” When met with silence, she glanced back up, “Does that mean something to you?”

“Rachel is his ex.” Elliott practically grunted out, wanting nothing more than to be in her bed and forget all about this shit show.

“Ah, well apparently not an ex anymore.” Madison said with a smirk, “Thanksgiving booty call, you have to give him props.”

“Whatever, I’m going to bed.” Elliott muttered, moving towards the stairs. She glanced up as she went, briefly making eye contact with Cordelia, before deciding she didn’t really want to talk and hurrying up the steps, closing her door behind her.

She hadn’t even pulled out her pajamas to change before Coco was bursting through the door, not even bothering to knock. “You are not going to bed.” She said adamantly, obviously intoxicated, “The party is just getting started. Come back down. I promise we’ll be good!”

Elliott let out a sad laugh and shook her head, “Nah. I already had four fights tonight. I’m tapping out.”

“Elle, you did not.” Coco said doubtfully, Elliott only shooting her a look, “Seriously, with who?”

“Madison, my mom, Madison _again_ , and I decided to just go for it and round the whole thing off with David.” Elliott said sarcastically.

“Oh come on, you and David never fight.” Coco shot back.

“We do when I royally fuck up and kiss him.” Elliott fired back without thinking, silently cursing herself when Coco got dangerously quiet.

“Wait, what?” She asked, “Aw.”

“No,” Elliott snapped, “Not aw, I screwed everything up. I kissed him and then he left to go be with his maybe-ex-maybe-not-girlfriend and I look like a dumbass.”

“Ok, this seems pretty shitty, I know.” Coco said, “But you two are like made to be together.”

“Obviously not.” Elliott grumbled, Coco shooting her an empathetic look.

“Babe, he just needs time.” Coco said empathetically, Elliott giving an unenthusiastic nod before the woman’s tune changed, “But I’m just letting you know now, I better be a damn bridesmaid.”

Elliott snickered a little bit, “Ok, Coco.”

“Good.” Coco said, walking over to Elliott and pulling her into a hug, “Glad we had this chat. Night, babe.”

“Night.” Elliott said as Coco walked out the door, finally changing into her pajamas and turning out the light, relishing in the comfort of her bed. She tried her best to fall asleep, but with the party still in full swing downstairs and her thoughts not being her friend, it seemed sleep just wasn’t in the cards. She tossed and turned for a while before letting out a grunt, violently flipping herself over so she was facing the wall and squeezing her eyes shut.

It took only a half hour before Coco totally spilled the beans about the kiss to Cordelia, and everyone who was in earshot. Truthfully, this was the least surprising thing that had happened all day, but once Coco had lamented how upset Elliott was over the whole ordeal, Cordelia knew she had to bite the bullet and talk to the girl, even though she knew Elliott really didn’t want to talk to her, not that she blamed her. Cordelia really needed to be more trusting of Elliott, she knew she did, but she always felt like she had to prepare for the worst possible scenario. Cordelia knew her over vigilance had a lot to do with the prophecy, wanting to do whatever she could to keep her daughter from going down that path, but Elliott had never really given the supreme a reason to not trust her. Sure, she was a little impulsive and at times reckless, but she was a kid, she was supposed to be like that. Elliott didn’t have a harmful bone in her body, at least not when it came to anyone else. Cordelia was well aware that Elliott desperately wanted to be good, and she really was, but Cordelia knew her own issues were making their home in the girl’s psyche, and that was something she couldn’t let happen.

When Cordelia opened the door and flicked on the lamp next to Elliott’s bed, the girl tried to ignore it, pinching her eyes closed in hopes that whoever it was would just go away. She had a feeling it was Cordelia, she was the only person who would dare interrupt her sleep, and that was confirmed when she felt the woman’s weight press down on the mattress. Once the supreme had rested her hand on Elliott’s back, the girl cracked open one eye. “Can I help you?” She asked sarcastically, the smell of tequila wafting out of her mouth.

“You’ve been drinking.” Cordelia stated, and she felt Elliott tense momentarily, preparing for a lecture, “It’s ok, I’ll allow it this time. You’ve had a rough day.”

“That would be a drastic understatement.” Elliott muttered as Cordelia tugged her up, crossing her legs and pinching the bridge of her nose, “Sorry for ruining Thanksgiving.”

Cordelia let out a breathy laugh, “You didn’t ruin it.” Elliott shot her a look, “You didn’t. You had every right to be angry with Madison, and me. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions.” Elliott looked confused, so Cordelia bit her lip and moved to explain, “I may have overheard some of your conversation in the greenhouse.”

Elliott tensed up, “How much?”

“I know Madison slept with David, and I know you weren’t going to tell me.” Cordelia said, throwing her daughter a teasing look. Elliott seemed to relax, which peaked the woman’s interest, she thought her admission would make the girl tense up further.

Elliott shook her head, “It wasn’t mine to tell.”

“You thought the test was Madison’s.” Cordelia said, Elliott nodding.

“Yea, she took one yesterday. She told me it was negative.” Elliott admitted.

“So you knew about it?” Cordelia asked, Elliott nodding, “And you thought it could be David’s?”

Elliott let out a sigh, “Yea. I was trying to not be upset about it, which obviously didn’t work out so well.” Cordelia gave her an empathetic look, “I didn’t know about them until today. Madison didn’t want to tell me.”

“So that’s why you were avoiding them?” Cordelia asked.

“I wasn’t avoiding them.” Elliott said, Cordelia laughing and giving her a doubtful look, “I wasn’t.”

“You know you can tell me about this stuff.” Cordelia teased.

“Yea, I know. But I felt dumb.” Elliott admitted with a sigh.

“Why?” Cordelia asked, trying to wrangle Elliott into admitting what happened with David.

“Because I was mad and I shouldn’t be.” Elliott said.

“You have every right to be, Madison knew better. They both did.” Cordelia responded.

“Yea, but David is just a friend. It isn’t my business who he sleeps with.” Elliott grunted, Cordelia smiling softly.

“It is if you like him.” She said, a teasing look on her face.

Elliott rolled her eyes and shook her head, but Cordelia still stared at her with that same look, and Elliott knew she was caught, narrowing her eyes, “Coco told you, didn’t she?” Cordelia grinned and let out a giggle, nodding, “What a snitch. Remind me to never tell her anything ever again.”

“You weren’t going to tell me?” Cordelia teased, feigning offense.

“No.” Elliott said with a laugh, burying her face in her hands.

“Why?” Cordelia asked, Elliott throwing her an unimpressed stare.

“Because it doesn’t mean anything. Just a lapse in judgement or whatever.” Elliott muttered, knowing it was a lie.

Cordelia shot her a knowing look, “It wasn’t a lapse in judgement. In fact, I think this is the first time you actually let yourself act on what you are feeling. Everyone knows you two are in love with each other.”

“We aren’t.” Elliott said adamantly, “Tonight is proof we aren’t.”

“He didn’t take it well?” Cordelia asked, Elliott shaking her head.

“Well he went to see her so I would take that as a no, if the yelling didn’t already clue me in.” Elliott said sarcastically.

“He just needs time, baby.” Cordelia said empathetically.

Elliott let out a sigh, “That’s what everyone is saying.”

“That’s because it’s true.” Cordelia said with a laugh, Elliott staring back at her doubtfully, “You two have a strange relationship. It’s more important to you both than anything else. You relied on each other for a really long time, it can be hard to comprehend it all. A lot has changed in a short amount of time.”

“Nothing has changed.” Elliott said, “Nothing has changed between us, it’s the same as it always was.”

“The circumstances have.” Cordelia explained, “You two couldn’t even entertain the idea of a romantic relationship, that your friendship was something more, because you needed each other to survive. There was too much at stake. Now you have a family and are actually willing to take the risk, he might not be there quite yet.” Elliott looked away, letting out a sigh but sitting silent, “I’m just saying give it time, baby. Give him some time to catch up. He’ll come around.” Elliott ducked her head but nodded, so Cordelia tried to change the subject, “Are you sure you don’t want to go Black Friday shopping with the rest of the girls? They are about to leave.”

Elliott chuckled softly, “That sounds like a terrible time, honestly.”

“Alright,” Cordelia said with a laugh, “I guess I’ll leave you alone then.” She stood and pressed a kiss to Elliott’s forehead, “Goodnight. I love you.”

“Love you too.” Elliott said as Cordelia moved towards the door, biting her lip and debating for a second, “Can you stay?”

Cordelia paused, turning around to throw a questioning look at her daughter, “Do you want to stay with me tonight?”

Elliott shook her head rapidly. “No, you have Misty. I just can’t fall asleep. You always help.” She said sheepishly, biting her lip as a blush crept on her cheeks.

Cordelia felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, but she smiled softly, hoping it would cover up her sad eyes. “Scooch over, kiddo.” She teased, Elliott smiling as she wiggled over closer to the wall. Cordelia plopped down on the bed dramatically, immediately pulling Elliott towards her and carding her hands through her blonde hair, gently untangling the knots and humming softly. The humming was mostly for her, to distract herself from her own thoughts, but it seemed to help Elliott relax, and Cordelia could feel the tension leaving her body, her breath quickly becoming slow and steady. As soon as Cordelia was sure Elliott was asleep, the humming stopped, but Cordelia didn’t move, didn’t disentangle herself from her daughter’s sleeping form, and the overthinking began.

_You have Misty._

She knew Elliott didn’t mean anything by it, didn’t mean to do any damage, but the simple phrase was enough to send the supreme into a spiral. Elliott knew that Cordelia would rather have Misty in her bed, and although she seemed ok with this fact, Cordelia wasn’t, not when she knew her daughter was still struggling. Not when she knew her sole focus should be on Elliott, and not when she knew that Elliott was willingly putting her own needs aside just so her mother could have even a sliver of happiness. That wasn’t her job, she was a _kid_ who needed her mother, and Cordelia didn’t argue with this fact, didn’t pull Elliott into her room regardless, didn’t prove that Elliott has and always will come first. She just let it happen, because Elliott was right. Cordelia did want Misty, and she hated herself for it.

Cordelia knew that this didn’t bother Elliott any, she didn’t even bat an eye, but that was only because she didn’t know any better. Elliott would be perfectly fine if Cordelia barely paid attention to her. As long as she wasn’t getting hit or yelled at, she was golden, but that wasn’t good enough for the supreme. It briefly crossed the woman’s mind that maybe she was being too hard on herself, as she so often was, but she quickly brushed it away. She _should_ be hard on herself, she should be doing everything she can to be the best mother to Elliott, and she wasn’t.

Cordelia gazed down at Elliott and briefly considered waking the girl up and marching her to the supreme’s bedroom, but considering Elliott was already having a hard time getting to sleep the idea just seemed selfish, the damage had already been done. The idea of just staying in Elliott’s bed was shot down before it even had time to fully form, her bed was too small for two people, and neither of them would be able to get a decent night’s sleep. So that meant Cordelia just had to live with it, with her mistake, and the supreme carefully repositioned Elliott as she rose from the bed, feeling completely dazed.

As much as Cordelia wanted to just crawl in bed, she forced herself to walk back downstairs and see the girls off, knowing if she didn’t then it would certainly be suspicious. She wandered down to the kitchen and grabbed another glass of wine, trying to keep her mouth busy so she didn’t word vomit over everyone. The girls shuffled around as they got ready to head out, running in and out of the kitchen as they looked for this and that, their phones, purses, shoes, each requiring separate trips of course, which only drove the woman crazy.

“There ya are.” Misty said as she walked in the room, a big grin plastered on her face.

“Here I am.” Cordelia said quietly, desperately wishing a sink hole would open up and swallow her whole. That grin had always made her dizzy, but now she just felt nauseous, and she quickly averted her gaze.

“Ya ok?” Misty asked cautiously, noticing her girlfriends clearly off disposition and wide eyes.

“Mhmm…” Cordelia hummed as she took a sip of wine, trying to ignore the choking feeling. She was trying to collect herself, at least as best she could, but Misty always had a way of seeing past it and dragging all the woman’s feelings out.

“Dee…” Misty said knowingly, waiting until the supreme looked at her again, “What’s goin’ on?”

Cordelia bit her lip, knowing the second she started talking that it would all rush out like a tidal wave, messy and uncontrolled. Misty just sat patiently, waiting with those big blue eyes that Cordelia wanted nothing more than to drown in and wash away all her pain, all her doubts. With a sigh, Cordelia tried to corral her thoughts, “I’m a terrible mother.”

“What are ya talkin’ bout? Ya are a great mother.” Misty said confidently, her face filled with concern, “I know ya and Elle had a fight but that don’t mean nothin’. It happens.” She moved to place a comforting hand on Cordelia’s arm, but the supreme retreated from her touch, surprising her, “Did somethin’ else happen?”

“She couldn’t sleep. She wanted to stay with me but she felt like she couldn’t.” Cordelia explained, Misty looking at her questioningly, “She felt like she couldn’t because she knew I wanted you.”

“She said that?” Misty asked, not even giving time for Cordelia to answer, “Dee, she’s had a rough day. I’m sure she didn’t mean it.”

“She didn’t have to say it. I shouldn’t have let this happen. She shouldn’t be making sacrifices for me.” Cordelia began, unable to stop the floodgates from opening, sighing, “I screwed everything up. I let this go too far and now she’s being pushed out.”

“Woah, hold on.” Misty said, trying her best to stay calm even though she could feel the hurt filling up her chest, “No she isn’t. I know ya are her mama first.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Cordelia said as tears filled her eyes, “She still feels like she can’t come to me when she needs me.”

“But ya said she didn’t say she was feelin’ like that.” Misty said, Cordelia shaking her head, “Dee, I’m not tryin’ ta force ya ta…”

“I know.” Cordelia said, taking a deep breath, “I know you didn’t. This is on me, I let this happen and I knew I shouldn’t have. She has to come first, always.”

Misty was trying desperately to hold her composure, but with the implications of the conversation they were having, she didn’t know if she could. Each word that came out of the supreme’s mouth was like a stab in the gut, a personal attack. “So what do ya wanna do?” Misty asked softly, terrified of the answer.

“I don’t know.” Cordelia stated, her voice clear.

Misty sucked in a breath as she turned away from the woman, leaning on the counter in front of her and shielding her face, spitting out the question she had long been avoiding, “Do ya wanna break up?” She waited for the answer, but there was silence, and after a moment she lifted her head to see Cordelia’s face blank, but her eyes filled with tears, bottom lip trembling.

“I don’t know.” She finally whispered out, not even daring to meet the swamp witch’s eyes. The uncertainty of her answer was almost worse than a flat out yes, and Misty felt her chest tighten. Misty was head over heels in love with Cordelia, and she thought the woman felt the same, but apparently she was mistaken. If you love someone, at least the way Misty loved her, you don’t put them in limbo, you don’t hurt them then keep them hanging onto hope. The witch tried to rationalize it, that despite Misty loving Elliott like she was her own, she wasn’t her mother, and Cordelia’s relationship with Elliott was far more complicated than the one she held with Misty. She knew Cordelia felt guilty about the way Elliott’s life had turned out, that she was doing everything in her power to make it up to her, and she still felt like it wasn’t enough. It would have been different had Elliott actually said that she felt pushed out, but she didn’t, it was Cordelia’s assumption, and it was causing their own relationship to quickly unravel. Maybe the woman was right, maybe she wasn’t able to handle both, and maybe she really just wasn’t sure about her relationship with Misty, despite what she had said before.

Misty tried to play tough, clenching her jaw to keep her own tears from spilling over, “Well when ya figure it out, let me know.”

And just like that, Misty was gone, slipping away into her and Elliott’s shared room, and Cordelia was left alone with nothing but her tears and a glass of red wine she didn’t even want. She sniffled for a few moments until she heard the girls hushed whispers from the entryway, quickly wiping her tears and pulling herself together once she heard the taps of Madison’s heeled boots on the hardwood. “We’re heading out.” Madison said, barely peeking her head into the room, “Don’t wait up for us, kay?”

If Cordelia didn’t know any better, she would almost take Madison’s soft stare and lack of sarcasm as a sign of affection, but it was Madison, and the only person Madison showed any form of affection to was Elliott. The supreme gave a slight nod and wished them luck, yelling after them to stay out of trouble, to which the girls laughed, then dumped out her almost full glass of wine and headed to bed. She hurt Misty, she knew she did, but she also hurt herself. She loved Misty, more than she ever loved Hank, more than she had ever loved anyone, and it scared her. Cordelia had always been a hopeless romantic, always put everything she had into her partners, only to have catastrophic results, and that was before she factored in Elliott. She wanted to give everything she had to Misty Day, but she couldn’t, because she was a mother and her child needed her love too. She was being pulled in two different directions and failing every single time. She didn’t know how to balance it, she didn’t know if she _could_ balance it, but she also didn’t want to let Misty go.

She knew Misty didn’t understand, she couldn’t understand, because Cordelia never talked about it. Misty knew Fiona had abandoned her at the coven, but she didn’t know about the countless men Fiona would invest in, give them everything she had, only at the expense of her daughter. She didn’t know that Cordelia constantly felt like she was playing with fire, each passing day drifting more and more into her mother’s haphazard ways. She knew becoming Fiona was Cordelia’s worst fear, but she didn’t quite grasp how deep it ran. Sure, Fiona was a narcissist, she was a bully, she was selfish and murderous and loathsome, but Cordelia took after her mother more than she cared to admit. It was easy to get lost in her relationships and lose sight of what was important. Easy to pull the swamp witch into her bed every night and hold her close, easy for her to forget that she had responsibilities, duties beyond loving Misty with every fiber of her being. When Cordelia was with Misty she forgot that she had a coven to lead, a daughter to teach and care for. Misty made her forget, and that’s why she loved her. But Cordelia couldn’t forget, she couldn’t afford to get lost in her ringlets and freckles, not when the weight of the world was on her shoulders. Not when Elliott was still so fragile and looking for her place in the world, looking for Cordelia to guide her, to be the one constant in her life.

Cordelia stared at the empty side of her bed and her chest ached. She loved Misty, more than Madison loved sarcasm and cigarettes, more than Elliott loved books, more than Coco loved keto and a damn good haircut. She loved Misty like the moon loved the sea, the gravitational pull between them undeniable and maddening. Misty drove her absolutely crazy in the best and worst ways. She made Cordelia her best and worst versions of herself, and Cordelia didn’t know if she had it in her to make those two converge. There was too much at stake, she couldn’t afford to fail, and between Misty and Elliott, Cordelia was doing a lot of failing.


End file.
